Regeneration method of deactivated bed for anaerobic methane coupling reaction in dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor

Methane conversion reaction bed regeneration using low-temperature plasma

This technology relates to a method of regenerating a deactivated methane dimerization reaction bed in a dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor.

In the existing technology, carbon deposition (coke) on the reaction bed occurring in the methane dimerization process reduced catalyst activity and made regeneration difficult. This technology utilizes dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma to effectively remove coke in the deactivated methane dimerization reaction bed by low-temperature plasma treatment in an oxidizing atmosphere.

This technology's 'in-situ regeneration' method preserves the catalyst structure compared to existing high-temperature heat treatment, increases energy efficiency, and can continuously produce C2+ hydrocarbons (ethylene, ethane) and hydrogen from methane with high efficiency.

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Key Features:

• C-H bonding of methane under room temperature and pressure conditions using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma, a type of low-temperature plasma.
• Conversion of methane into high value-added hydrocarbons such as C2 or higher, such as ethane, ethylene, and acetylene, and hydrogen, without additional heat energy or oxidizing agent.
• Removal of coke by injecting an oxygen-containing mixture (e.g., air) within the same DBD plasma reactor.
• Methane Continuous operation is possible by repeating the conversion (step 1) and bed regeneration (step 2) processes more than once as needed

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This technology was developed through the support of the National Research Foundation of Korea's research project on 3D graphene with a highly regular pore structure for CO hydrogenation reaction.

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