Plasmatron having an air jacket and method for operating the same

#The present disclosure relates generally to a fuel reformer, and more particularly to a plasmatron having an air jacket and method for operating the same.

#Hydrogen has been used as a fuel or fuel additive for an internal combustion engine in an effort to reduce emissions from the engine. One manner of producing hydrogen for use with an internal combustion is by the operation of a plasmatron. A plasmatron reforms hydrocarbon fuel into a reformed gas such as hydrogen-rich gas. Specifically, a plasmatron heats an electrically conducting gas either by an arc discharge or by a high frequency inductive or microwave discharge. The internal combustion engine combusts the hydrogen-rich gas from the plasmatron either as the sole source of fuel, or in conjunction with hydrocarbon fuels.

#A plasmatron may also be utilized to supply hydrogen-rich gas to devices other than internal combustion engines. For example, hydrogen-rich gas reformed by a plasmatron may be supplied to a fuel cell for use by the fuel cell in the production of electrical energy.

#The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:

#FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a first embodiment of a plasmatron, note that the fuel injector is not shown in cross section for clarity of description; and

#FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing a second embodiment of a plasmatron.

#Referring now to FIGS. land 2, there is shown a fuel reformer. The fuel reformer is embodied as a plasmatron 10 which uses a plasma—an electrically heated gas—to convert hydrocarbon fuel into a reformed gas such as a hydrogen-rich gas.

#Hydrogen-rich gas generated by the plasmatron 10 may be supplied to an internal combustion engine (not shown) such as a diesel engine or spark-ignition gasoline engine. In such a case, the internal combustion engine combusts the reformed gas as either the sole source of fuel, or alternatively, as a fuel additive to a hydrocarbon fuel. Alternatively, hydrogen-rich gas generated by the plasmatron 10 may be supplied to a fuel cell (not shown) such as an alkaline fuel cell (AFC), a phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), or any other type of fuel cell. In such a case, the fuel cell utilizes the hydrogen-rich gas in the production of electrical energy.

#The plasmatron 10 includes a plasma-generating assembly 12, a reactor 14, and an air jacket 16. As shown in FIG. 1, the reactor 14 includes a reactor housing 18 having a reaction chamber 20 defined therein. The plasma-generating assembly 12 is secured to an upper portion 22 of the reactor housing 18. Specifically, the plasma-generating assembly 12 includes an upper electrode 24 and a lower electrode 26. The electrodes 24, 26 are spaced apart from one another so as to define an electrode gap 28 therebetween. An insulator 30 electrically insulates the electrodes from one another. Collectively, portions of the electrodes 24, 26, the insulator 30, a gasket 36, and a cap 38 define a plasma housing 40.