Production of Hydrogen-Rich Syngas from Dimethyl Ether by Using a Microwave Steam Plasma

Dimethyl ether (DME) is disintegrated by a microwave steam-plasma raising the gas temperature in a reaction chamber of 100 liters in a swirl-type gasifier. With additional heating of DME by partial oxidation, the gasifier temperature reaches 1250 °C. The initial breakdown species of DME molecules are hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane, which eventually disintegrate to CO and H2 by steam modification at temperatures higher than 1200 °C. The relative concentrations of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide produced solely from DME modification by steam were 67.5 percent, 30.3 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, achieving a conversion rate of 88 percent at a temperature of 1058 °C. The total energy efficiency of the present experiment was 81 percent.