Production of syngas for the reduction of sulfur dioxide by methane via a direct RF plasmalysis process

✍ Scribed by Cheng-Hsien Tsai; Ya-Fen Wang; Yuh-Jeen Huang; Chia-Yuan Chang

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 210 KB
• Volume: 78
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0268-2575
• DOI: 10.1002/jctb.874

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The traditional process for the reduction of SO~2~ by CH~4~ usually leads to enrichment of the effluents with H~2~S and CO~2~. In this study, a radio‐frequency (RF) plasma system was applied to generate useful byproduct: syngas (H~2~ and CO) at room temperature. Experimental results indicate that the H~2~/CO ratio increased with the elevation of inlet [CH~4~]/[SO~2~] ratio (R), or the decrease of applied power (E) or operational pressure (P). H~2~/CO values ranged from 1.34 to 4.28 and reached 2.09 and 1.95 for E = 90 W and 120 W, respectively, at R = 1 and P = 4000 N m^−2^. At first the selectivity to CO increased with the elevation of R or E, while the selectivity to H~2~ was only decreased at R > 2 whatever the power that was supplied. However, at R = 2, optimum selectivities of H~2~ and CO, and decomposition efficiencies of CH~4~ and SO~2~, were achieved. The decomposition efficiencies and product components strongly depend on E or R. CH~4~ is more easily decomposed than SO~2~ and yields mainly syngas, with traces of CO~2~, C~2~H~2~, and C~2~H~4~. In addition, sulfur‐containing compounds including major amounts of CS~2~, elemental sulfur and minor amounts of COS, but no toxic H~2~S, were observed. The formation pathways of syngas are also proposed to provide useful information to gain insight into the CH~4~ conversion in the RF plasma. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry