Project NTP Van Ortega Cayetano Shama Karu Sean McKeown Themistoklis Zacharatos Advisor: Dr. Woo Lee Plasma Specialist: Dr. Kurt Becker Powered by:

Introduction to Plasma Plasmas are everywhere around us. Plasmas are an equilibrium of ions and electrons with in a confined space.

Categories of Plasmas: Different characteristics of plasmas are produced with various means of energy applications. Various plasmas: –Homogeneous Plasma –Arc Discharge (lightning) –Thermal Plasma –Non-Thermal Plasma (NTP) (fluorescent tubes) –Etc. Few Variations among plasmas: –Electron density –Thermal energy –Energy consumption

Cause of Variations: Pressure Voltage Material of electrodes Type of gas Means of plasma production (plasma source)

Production of Plasma: A commonly used method of generating and sustaining NTP is through an electric field. –For instance, two parallel electrodes with an applied voltage

Schematic Diagram of the Plasma Reactor Dielectric Barrier Discharge at/above Atmospheric Pressure Glass Pipette Anode Cathode AC HV + Network Plasma Region Gas Flow Spectroscopy, Gas Chromatography Pure He or Ar He/N 2 or Ar/N 2 He/Ar + N 2 + CH 3 OH 1 kV, 50 W 250 kHz Reference: Prof. Becker

Summary of Experimental Results with Cold Plasma Plasma Characteristics with He/Ar+N 2 –Gas temperature of 350 – 380 K (measured) –Electron density of 1 – 5 x cm -3 (estimated) –Avg. electron energy of 0.6 – 0.8 eV w/o high-energy tail Experiments with He/Ar+N 2 +CH 3 OH –Gas temperature still in the 350 – 380 K range –Increase in CO, OH, and CH emissions, indicating a (partial) plasma-induced break-up of CH 3 OH –Very weak H emissions –May require more energetic electrons –Needs improvement for controlling methanol content Reference: Prof. Becker

Summary of Experiment Attempting to Crack Methanol from Pipette Design Flow-rate of pure Argon was 140cc/min Flow-rate of Ar/MeOH was 11.8cc/min Total flow-rate was 151.8cc/min Power in was approximately 150W Methanol concentration before entering plasma to be 1.29% Conclusion GC detector not sensitive enough unable to pick up such a small concentration

Goals: Obtain a clear understanding of plasma Breakdown Methane at a lower temperature than the current conventional methods using NTP Improve on previous year

Breakdown of Methane: Methane steam reforming: CH 4 + 2H 2 O CO 2 + 4H 2 CH 4 + H 2 O CO + 3H 2 Temperature: 600–1300K with Ni/Ca/Carbon – based catalyst Methane plasma reforming: CH 4 + e - ???? Temperature ~ 300K

Obtain a clear understanding of plasma: Literature research Consult with Physics department Analyze experiments using NTP Plasma

Experimental research on new plasma sources: Design new source Experiment with ratio of methane to argon flow Determine optimum frequency and power for new source Elemental analysis by Gas Chromatography (GC) –Literature research – analytical methods –GC performance check –GC automation

Improvements on previous year: Unclear assumptions towards calculations. Equipment Gas Chromatograph System Leaks

Gantt Chart - Overall

Gantt Chart - October

Why Fuel Cells? Environmental Effects –Reduction of automobile greenhouse gas emissions by 50% –Cut down on smog and acid rain –Reduce noise pollution Social Ramifications –Reduction of energy imports –Lower energy costs Applications –Batteries –Transportation –Power Plants