Nonthermal Atmospheric Plasma Reactors for Hydrogen Production from Low-Density Polyethylene

TL;DR

This study develops and compares two atmospheric plasma reactors for converting plastic waste into hydrogen, demonstrating that both can produce hydrogen efficiently with specific operational optimizations.

Contribution

It introduces and characterizes two novel low-temperature atmospheric plasma reactors for hydrogen production from plastic waste, highlighting their operational parameters and efficiencies.

Findings

Hydrogen production increases with voltage in both reactors.

Maximum hydrogen yields are 0.33 and 0.42 mmol/g LDPE for transarc and glidarc.

Operational parameters like electrode spacing and flow rate significantly affect hydrogen output.

Abstract

Hydrogen is largely produced via natural gas reforming or electrochemical water-splitting, leaving organic solid feedstocks under-utilized. Plasma technology powered by renewable electricity can lead to the sustainable upcycling of plastic waste and production of green hydrogen. In this work, low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasma reactors based on transferred arc (transarc) and gliding arc (glidarc) discharges are designed, built, and characterized to produce hydrogen from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) as a model plastic waste. Experimental results show that hydrogen production rate and efficiency increase monotonically with increasing voltage level in both reactors, with the maximum hydrogen production of 0.33 and 0.42 mmol/g LDPE for transarc and glidarc reactors, respectively. For the transarc reactor, smaller electrode-feedstock spacing favors greater hydrogen production, whereas, for the glidarc reactor, greater hydrogen production is obtained at intermediate flow rates. The hydrogen production from LDPE is comparable despite the markedly different modes of operation between the two reactors.