Low current plasmatron fuel converter having enlarged volume discharges
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsAlexander Rabinovich, Nikolai Alexeev, Leslie Bromberg, Daniel R. Cohn, Andrei Samokhin
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Abstract
A novel apparatus and method is disclosed for a plasmatron fuel converter (“plasmatron”) that efficiently uses electrical energy to produce hydrogen rich gas. The volume and shape of the plasma discharge is controlled by a fluid flow established in a plasma discharge volume. A plasmatron according to this invention produces a substantially large effective plasma discharge volume allowing for substantially greater volumetric efficiency in the initiation of chemical reactions within a volume of bulk fluid reactant flowing through the plasmatron.
Claims40
A plasmatron fuel converter for producing a hydrogen rich gas, comprising:
- a first electrode comprising an electrically conductive structure;
- a second electrode disposed with respect to the first electrode as to create at least two boundaries of a plasma discharge volume;
- a power supply connected to the first and second electrodes to provide voltage and current sufficient to generate a plasma discharge within the plasma discharge volume to initiate a reaction of an injected reactive mixture;
- and
- means for establishing a fluid flow through the plasma discharge volume;
- wherein the fluid flow continually stretches and extinguishes the plasma discharge generated within the plasma discharge volume;
- and
- wherein the plasma discharge is continually and substantially reestablished randomly across the plasma discharge volume.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.