Quote:
Originally Posted by Logic
So what about an in vehicle reformer?
The higher the temperature; the less pressure and catalyst required. making onboard feasible.
MIT etc's Plasmatrons do this at standard pressures and with liquid fuel, using an electrical arc to provide the required (very high) temperature.
The arc itself can be considered a/the catalyst with a very large surface area of very exited electrons and ions etc.
(There's also a parallel to a std HHO electrolysis cell: An anode and cathode and said electron flow, but gas rather than water.
The gas rather than water is a good thing if you think about it.
Less half done reactions (H+ and OH-) going back to water, in water, rather than H and wasting heat in the process...)
ie: The industrial process can now be accomplished in a light small onboard reformer as high pressure and large catalyst surface area are no longer required thx to the arc.
NB that any un-reacted hydrocarbon gas will also burn, just better.
NB that Syngas is made with a water to hydrocarbon ratio of up to 90% water to 10% HC.
In a number of these Plasmatrons waste exhaust heat is used to pyrolyse fuel and produce steam, with the arc adding the extra required temperature and exited electron catalyst etc.
ie: Less input energy required.
(MIT wasn't alone: There were a good number of research institutes duplicating and verifying all this if you look!?)
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We could do all of that, or just use existing engines meant to run on natural gas, like what China is doing.
Some people just like to do the simplest things as complicated as possible.