Hydrogen production
AssigneeQinetiq Limited
InventorsPhilip Michael Beech, Stuart Leigh Jones, James Timothy Shawcross
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Abstract
A process and apparatus are provided for producing hydrogen from a hydrocarbon fuel by combining the fuel with a gas comprising both oxygen and steam, and passing the resulting mixture through a plasma generated by a microwave plasma generator between opposed electrodes. At least one of the electrodes defines a duct for outflow of gaseous material from the vicinity of the plasma, and the gas mixture emerging from the outflow duct contains hydrogen. The fuel undergoes partial oxidation and steam reforming, the reactions being initiated by the plasma rather than by a catalyst.
Claims12
A process for producing hydrogen from a hydrocarbon fuel, the process comprising:
- combining the fuel with a gas comprising oxygen and/or steam;
- and
- passing the fuel and gas mixture through a plasma generated by a microwave plasma generator between opposed electrodes in a reactor, at least one of the electrodes defining a duct for outflow of material from the vicinity of the plasma so that the gas mixture emerging from the outflow duct contains hydrogen, wherein the fuel and the gas comprising oxygen and/or steam enter the reactor so as to form a swirl of fuel and gas mixture around the electrodes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.