Hydrogen Production from Ammonia Using Plasma Membrane Reactor

In this study, an efficient method for using pulsed plasma to produce hydrogen from ammonia was developed. An original pulsed plasma reactor with a hydrogen separation membrane was developed for efficient hydrogen production, and its hydrogen production performance was investigated. Hydrogen production in the plasma was affected by the applied voltage and flow rate of ammonia gas. The maximum hydrogen production flow rate of a typical plasma reactor was 8.7 L/h, whereas that of the plasma membrane reactor was 21.0 L/h. We found that ammonia recombination reactions in the plasma controlled hydrogen production in the plasma reactor. In the plasma membrane reactor, a significant increase in hydrogen production was obtained because ammonia recombination reactions were inhibited by the permeation of hydrogen radicals generated in the plasma through a palladium alloy membrane. The energy efficiency was 4.42 mol-H2/kWh depending on the discharge power.