Comparison of methane reforming routes for hydrogen production using dielectric barrier discharge plasma-catalysis

Methane reforming is an interesting resource for obtaining hydrogen. DBD plasma-catalysis allows a direct use of electricity for methane reforming reactions, such as direct methane reforming (MR), dry methane reforming (DMR) and steam methane reforming (SMR). In this work, the first comprehensive comparison of these three routes for hydrogen production is experimentally and systematically investigated using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma and various catalyst formulations. Among the three routes, SMR is the most effective, achieving significantly higher methane conversion rates (24 %) and hydrogen content (80 %). DMR produces predominantly syngas mixture, whereas MR yields hydrogen along with other light carbon compounds. In SMR route, the favorable textural properties of Ni/Al2O3 are responsible for its high methane conversion rates, while Ni/CeO2 increases hydrogen content since it favors the water-gas shift reaction, especially at high power inputs. Therefore, SMR using a suitable catalyst stands out as the most feasible reforming route for hydrogen production.