Hydrogen Production from Methane Cracking in Dielectric Barrier Discharge Catalytic Plasma Reactor Using a Nanocatalyst

The study experimentally investigated a novel approach for producing hydrogen from methane cracking in dielectric barrier discharge catalytic plasma reactor using a nanocatalyst. Plasma-catalytic methane (CH₄) cracking was undertaken in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) catalytic plasma reactor using Ni/MgAl₂O₄. The Ni/MgAl₂O₄ was synthesised through co-precipitation followed customised hydrothermal method. The physicochemical properties of the catalyst were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy—energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The Ni/MgAl₂O₄ shows a porous structure spinel MgAl₂O₄ and thermal stability. In the catalytic-plasma methane cracking, the Ni/MgAl₂O₄ shows 80% of the maximum conversion of CH₄ with H₂ selectivity 75%. Furthermore, the stability of the catalyst was encouraging 16 h with CH₄ conversion above 75%, and the selectivity of H₂ was above 70%. This is attributed to the synergistic effect of the catalyst and plasma. The plasma-catalytic CH₄ cracking is a promising technology for the simultaneous H₂ and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) production for energy storage applications.