M4-NUWC Overview Fontaine.pdf

Microplasma Reforming of Acetylene for SOFC Aboard
UUVs Student: E. Lennon, PI: R. Besser, Navy Mentor: A. A.
Burke
elennon@stevens.edu, rbesser@stevens.edu
Non-Thermal Microplasma
S&T OBJECTIVES
Examples:
•
Microplasma chips fabricated by Besser’s group
running with inert gases (nitrogen & neon) in batch
mode.
APPROAC
•H
•
•
Characterize VI behaviors of microplasmas to
determine device efficiencies under various chip
geometries & input settings.
Design next generation flow-thru microplasma
chips & fabricate at Cornell Nanotechnology
Facility (CNF).
Assess hydrogen generation from C2H2 microplasma chips in a closed-loop carbide fuel
processing system via measurement of
conversion, yield, selectivity, & process
efficiencies (all potentially improved by high
electron density in microplasma).
•
•
Determine if microplasma reforming of acetylene
(C2H2) is a viable fuel processing option for H2 delivery to UUV SOFC.
Determine if viable, under what conditions
microplasma reforming of acetylene (C2H2) performs best.
Compare microplasma fuel reforming for UUVs
to existing reforming technologies.
Accomplishments Jun’08 – May‘09
• Completed H2 O2 decomposition project &
submitted manuscript to Journal of Power
Sources.
• Completed microplasma fuel processing lit review.
• Reviewed VI data of inert gas microplasmas &
analyzed characteristics for batch chips.
• Integrating mass spec into current experimental
Upcoming setup. Work Jun’09 – May’10
• Complete microplasma flow-thru chip design .
• Fabricate next generation microplasma flow-thru
chips at CNF.
• Run experiments of acetylene reforming with
microplasma chips to quantify hydrogen