Numerical modelling of a low power non-transferred arc plasma reactor for methane conversion

Thermal flow characteristics and the methane conversion reaction in a low power arc plasma reactor for efficient storage and transport of methane, which is the main component of shale gas, were simulated. The temperature and velocity distributions were calculated according to the type of discharge gases and arc current level by a self-developed magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) code and a commercial ANSYS-FLUENT code; the transport of chemical species was analyzed as including the chemical reactions of methane conversion. The simulated results were verified by the comparison of calculated and measured arc voltages with permissible low error as under 4%. Three C₂ hydrocarbon gases with ethane (C₂H₆), ethylene (C₂H₄), and acetylene (C₂H₂) were selected as the converted species of methane from experimental data. The mass fraction of C₂ hydrocarbons and hydrogen as the product of the conversion reaction at the reactor was also calculated. Those values show good agreement with the actual experimental results in that the major conversion reaction occurred in C₂H₂ and hydrogen, and the conversions to C₂H₆, C₂H₄, and hydrogen were minor reactions of methane pyrolysis conversion.     

Physical and chemical sputtering of graphite and SiC by hydrogen and helium in the energy range of 600 to 7500 eV

The erosion of pyrolytic graphite and silicon carbide due to the bombardment with monoenergetic hydrogen ions with energies of 600 to 7500 eV has been investigated in the temperature range of near room temperature to 750°C. The erosion yield of SiC is about 10^?2 and shows no pronounced temperature dependence. In contrast to SiC the erosion yield of pyrolytic graphite shows a maximum at a temperature of about 600°C. The ratio of the maximum erosion yield to that at room temperature depends on the energy of the hydrogen ions and increases from about 11 at 3000 eV to 32 at 670 eV. The production of CH₄ during the bombardment of the graphite has been found proportional to the erosion yield. When graphite was bombarded with He ions no hydrocarbon production and no temperature dependence of the erosion yield could be observed. The results are compared with values for the erosion yields of carbon by thermal atomic hydrogen taken from literature.     

Methane formation during the interaction of energetic protons and deuterons with carbon

Methane production has been investigated as a function of temperature during ion bombardment and during post-irradiation thermal release of implanted hydrogen in pyrocarbon. The reaction is shown to be directly correlated with the release of trapped hydrogen rather than an ion/surface interaction. During bombardment, methane production is not observed below target temperatures of 450 K. The methane yield reaches a maximum of 9% of the hydrogen release rate at 850 K after which it falls to <0.2% at 1200 K. No residual gas effects on hydrocarbon production have been observed even at pressures up to 10^?5 torr. Following bombardment, methane is formed during heating of the carbon at temperatures in excess of 800 K. A peak in methane production is observed at 1000 K, whilst the peak in hydrogen release occurs at 1200 K. An analytical model for the temperature dependence of methane production during bombardment is presented and this agrees well with the experimental results.     

Effect of Hydrogen Atmosphere on Radiation- Induced Gas Evolution from Polyisoprene

Polyisoprene was irradiated in hydrogen atmosphere by ⁶⁰Co γ-rays. The evolved gases were methane, ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene and butane. With respect to saturated hydrocarbons, the yields increased with increasing pressure of hydrogen. On the contrary, the yields of unsaturated hydrocarbons decreased. The G-value of methane in hydrogen of 1 MPa was about four times larger than that in vacuum for irradiation of cis-polyisoprene (Cis) at 160 kGy. The gas evolution from trans-isomer (Trans) was about the same as that from Cis. The yields of gases from gloves made of natural rubber were smaller than those from Cis or Trans.     

The Formation of Ethane from Carbon Dioxide under Cold Plasma

1. IntroductionEthane is a major component of oiLfield gas or refined tail gas. Up.to now, a full utilization of thisplentiful source Of carbon has been still a problem.The reaction Of oxidative dehydrogenation of ethaneusing oxygen as oxidant is dangerous for the highreactivity of oxygen, for which it is difficult to be industrialized from a practical point of view. On theother hand, although some techniques have foundtheir way in converting ethane to ethylene and acetylene, all Of these me…     

A Green Process for High-Concentration Ethylene and Hydrogen Production from Methane in a Plasma-Followed-by-Catalyst Reactor

A green process for the oxygen-free conversion of methane to high-concentration ethylene and hydrogen in a plasma-followed-by-catalyst （PFC） reactor is presented. Without any catalysts and with pure methane used as the feed gas, a stable kilohertz spark discharge leads to an acetylene yield of 64.1%, ethylene yield of 2.5% and hydrogen yield of 59.0% with 80.0% of methane conversion at a methane flow rate of 50 cm3 min-1 and a specific input energy of 38.4 kJ/L. In the effluent gas from a stable kilohertz spark discharge reactor, the concentrations of acetylene, ethylene and hydrogen were 18.1%, 0.7% and 66.9%, respectively. When catalysts Pd-Ag/SiO2 were employed in the second stage with discharge conditions same as in the case of plasma alone, the PFC reactor provides an ethylene yield of 52.1% and hydrogen yield of 43.4%. The concentrations of ethylene and hydrogen in the effluent gas from the PFC reactor were found to be as high as 17.1% and 62.6%, respectively. Moreover, no acetylene was detected in the effluent gas. This means that a high concentration of ethylene and oxygen-free hydrogen can be co-produced directly from methane in the PFC reactor.     

Atomic simulation of energetic fluorine interacting with Si(0 0 1)

In this study, Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate F continuously bombarding silicon surfaces at normal incidence and room temperature. The simulated results show that with increasing incident energy and temperature, the etch yield of Si atoms increases, which is in good qualitative agreement with experiments. Accompanying reaching the steady-state F uptake and Si etching, a steady-state SiF_x (x = 1-4) reactive layer is formed whose thickness increases with increasing incident energy. In the reaction layer, SiF species are dominant and SiF₃ species decrease with increasing incident energy.     

Gaseous products generated by radiation degradation of N,N-diethylhydroxylamine aqueous solution

In this paper, gaseous products generated by radiation degradation of N,N-diethylhydroxylamine (DEHA)in aqueous solution are studied. The results show that by 10～1000 kGy irradiation of the solution in DEHA volume fraction of hydrogen did not change much with different concentrations of DEHA. The volume fraction of methane and ethane decreased, but that of ethene increased, with increasing DEHA concentration. The volume fraction of hydrogen, methane and ethane increased with the dose. The relationship of the volume fraction of ethene with the dose had something to do with the DEHA concentration.     

Non-equilibrium Plasma Dehydrogenation Coupling of Methane

1. IntroductionDirect conversion of methane is an important subiect in the field of research and application of natural gas. Methane coupling into CZ hydrocarbonsis of great significance in both the science and national economy. Some interesting results have beenobtained from the research on the oxidative couplingof methane. It has been generally agreed that themechanism of oxidative coupling of methane is asfollowsi The C--H bonds of molecular methane areactivated first, and then broken to …     

Oxygen mass transport effects during hydrogen reduction of UO2 + x

Reduction of UO_{2 + x} was studied in a molecular beam system, in which a collisionless flux of atomic hydrogen strikes a portion of the surface of the solid and the reaction product water is detected by an in-situ mass spectrometer. The experiment revealed kinetic limitations due to both surface chemical reaction and to transport processes, the latter including surface diffusion of oxygen as well as bulk diffusion. A quantitative model of the reduction process showed that the surface reaction rate was linear in the H atom beam intensity and in the excess O/U ratio above a minimum value for detectable reaction. The bulk diffusion coefficient of oxygen determined from the data at 585°C agreed well with the measurement of Lay. The surface diffusion coefficient at the same temperature was found to be ~1 cm²/s, suggesting ideal two-dimensional-gas behavior of oxygen on the urania surface.     

Measurement of chemical sputtering yields of various types of carbon

Measurements of the chemical sputtering during the bombardment of pyrolytic graphite, isotropic carbon and glassy carbon with 0.1–6 keV hydrogen ions have been made in the temperature rarige of room temperature to 700°C. The maximum production rate occurs at 1 keV for the incident energy and 525°C for the target temperature in all types of carbon. Energy and temperature dependences of chemical sputtering of carbon are not affected by the structures of the carbon. The reason is ascribed to radiation damage of the surface of the carbon. The dose dependence of the methane production rate was influenced by the hydrogen concentration in a target prior to bombardment, but the steady rate was obtained after the target was bombarded with protons at a dose of more than $\text{1 × 10}{}^{18}\text{H}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{/cm}{}^2$.     

Fracture toughness of the hydrogen charged EUROFER 97 RAFM steel at room temperature and 120 °C

The static fracture toughness of EUROFER 97 reduced activation ferritic-martensitic steel was investigated in presence of higher content of hydrogen. The hydrogen effect is shown during fracture toughness testing both of base and weld metals at room temperature and at 120 °C. At the room temperature testing the J_0.2 integral values will decrease depending on hydrogen content in the range of 2-4 wppm. The same hydrogen content of 2 wppm manifests itself by an uneven level of hydrogen embrittlement for base metal and weld metal. This corresponds to a different J_0.2 integral value and a different mechanism of fracture mode. At the hydrogen content of 4 wppm more evident decrease of J_0.2 was observed for both metals. At 120 °C hydrogen decreases J_0.2 integral in base metal at a limited scale only in comparison to weld metal. At room temperature and hydrogen content of about 4 wppm the base metal specimen exhibits inter-granular fracture and trans-granular cleavage on practically the whole crack surface. The weld metal fracture has shown inter-granular and trans-granular mechanism with ductile and dimple rupture.     

Experimental studies of mechanical properties of solid zirconium hydrides

Zirconium alloy Zr-2.5Nb has been hydrided to ZrH_x (x = 1.15-2.0), and studied using microhardness and unconfined and confined compression techniques. At room temperature, results on Young’s modulus and yield strength of solid hydrides show that these mechanical properties remain about the same as the original zirconium alloy for hydrogen compositions up to about ZrH_1.5. The levels of these properties start to drop when δ hydride becomes the major phase and reaches a minimum for the ε hydride phase. Between room temperature and 300 °C, Young’s modulus of solid hydrides decreases with temperature at about the same rate as it does for the original zirconium alloy.     

Room-Temperature Reactor Packed with Hydrophobic Catalysts for the Oxidation of Hydrogen Isotopes Released in a Nuclear Facility

A room-temperature reactor packed with hydrophobic catalysts for the oxidation of hydrogen isotopes released in a nuclear facility will contribute to nuclear safety. The inorganic-based hydrophobic Pt catalyst named H1P has been developed especially for efficient oxidation over a wide concentration range of hydrogen isotopes at room temperature, even in the presence of saturated water vapor. The overall reaction rate constant for hydrogen oxidation with the H1P catalyst in a flow-through system using a tritium tracer was determined as a function of space velocity, hydrogen concentration in carriers, temperature of the catalyst, and water vapor concentration in carriers. The overall reaction rate constant for the H1P catalyst in the range near room temperature was considerably larger than that for the traditionally applied Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst. Moreover, the decrease in reaction rate for H1P in the presence of saturated water vapor was slight compared with the reaction rate in the absence of water vapor due to the excellent hydrophobic performance of H1P. Oxidation reaction on the catalyst surface is the rate-controlling step in the range near room temperature and the rate-controlling step is shifted to diffusion in a catalyst substratum above 313K due to its fine porosity. The overall reaction rate constant in the range near room temperature was dependent on the space velocity and hydrogen concentration in carriers. The overall reaction rate constants in the range of 1;000=T greater than 3.2 correlated to k _overall[s^?1] = 5.59 × 10⁷ × SV[h^?1] × exp (?67.7 [kJ/mol]/R_gT), where the space velocity range was from 600 to 7,200 h^?1.     

Erosion yield of Ti from TiC-deposited graphite by hydrogen ion bombardment at high temperatures

Erosion yields of Ti atoms from a TiC-deposited graphite by bombardment with 1 keV hydrogen ion beam of various current densities at 900°C have been investigated by means of the Rutherford backscattering (RBS) technique. It has been observed that the sputtering yields for Ti atoms at 900°C are almost zero below a critical ion flux of 1 × 10¹⁵/cm²·s, compared with the sputtering yield of Ti atoms at room temperature which has been measured to be 1 × 10⁻²atoms/ion. No sputtering of Ti atoms observed at 900°C is explained in terms of self-sustaining coating of the TiC surface with segregated carbon layer. The condition for the self-sustaining coating is discussed.     

Hydrogen production in gamma radiolysis of the mixture of mordenite and seawater

Hydrogen production by γ-radiolysis of the mixture of mordenite, a zeolite mineral, and seawater was studied in order to provide basic points of view for the influences of zeolite minerals, of the salts in seawater, and of rise in temperature on the hydrogen production by the radiolysis of water. These influences are required to be considered in the evaluation of the hydrogen production from residual water in the waste zeolite adsorbents generated in Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station. As the influence of the mordenite, an additional production of hydrogen besides the hydrogen production by the radiolysis of water was observed. The additional hydrogen can be interpreted as the hydrogen production induced by the absorbed energy of the mordenite at the yield of 2.3×10^?8 mol/J. The influence of the salts was observed as increase of the hydrogen production. The influence of the salts can be attributed to the reactions of bromide and chloride ions inhibiting the reaction of hydrogen with hydroxyl radical. The influence of the rise in temperature was not significantly observed up to 60°C in the mixture with seawater. The results show that the additional production of hydrogen due to the mordenite had little temperature dependence.     

Nuclear process heat—application to coal gasification

The high temperature gas cooled reactor has achieved peak coolant temperatures from 775 to 950°C, depending on the core design. These temperatures are sufficiently high to consider the HTR as a source of heat for several large industrial processes. In this article the application is to a coal gasification process which produces a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen as the key product. The gasifier system itself is coupled to the HTR via a catalyzed fluidized bed coal gasifier operating at 700°C and producing methane. The feed to this gasifier is a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and steam with the stoichiometry chosen to effect an overall athermal reaction so that no heat is directly transferred into the gasifier. Its hydrogen supply is generated by steam reforming the methane produced using the direct HTR heat. This indirect system has advantages in terms of its final product, indirect heat transfer and ultimately in the savings of approximately 40% of the coal which would otherwise have been assumed in an all-coal process producing the same final product.     

Modelling of carbon transport in fusion devices: evidence of enhanced re-erosion of in-situ re-deposited carbon

The paper presents new Monte-Carlo transport simulations of methane ¹³CH₄ injected through a hole in a testlimiter and exposed to the edge plasma of TEXTOR. The results show that the spatial distribution of ¹³C re-deposited locally on the testlimiter surface can be modelled if the parameter S for the sticking of returning hydrocarbons ¹³CH_y is set to zero or almost zero. This is interpreted as a negligible effective sticking of the returning hydrocarbon radicals due to the instantaneous re-erosion caused by the hydrogen carried with the CH_y radicals (`self re-erosion'). However, the calculated local deposition efficiency of ¹³C, remains too high compared with the observed value. Therefore, in addition an enhanced yield for chemical erosion caused by the background hydrogen for the fresh re-deposits has to be assumed. Similar assumptions can reproduce also the high amount of carbon deposition found on the inner louvers in the MkIIa divertor configuration of JET and on the plasma-shadowed areas of the MkIIGB divertor.     

Interactions of 5–30 keV deuterons with a carbon surface

Measurements have been made of the temperature dependence of methane formation during the bombardment of carbon with hydrogen ions of varying energies. It has been found that the value of the temperature at which maximum methane production occurs varies with incident ion energy, in agreement with the prediction of our earlier theoretical model. Measurements have also been made of the release of previously trapped hydrogen in carbon using hydrogen and deuterium ion beams. The cross sections measured for this release as a function of energy have been used in the model for methane production and confirm that ion-induced release plays an important role in determining the methane production rate.     

Gaseous products of aqueous N,N-dimethyl hydroxylamine degraded by radiation

In this work,the 0.1-0.5 mol·L-1 N,N-dimethylhydroxylamine(DMHA) were irradiated to 5-25 kGy,and gaseous products of mainly hydrogen,methane,ethane and n-butane were measured by gas chromatography.The results show that the volume fraction of hydrogen and methane increases with the concentration of DMHA and dose,and the latter does not change markedly at high doses.