DOI: https://doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.20352

Investigation of Ar/CH₄ Mixtures in Dielectric Barrier Discharge: A Simulation Approach for Hydrogen Production

Laboratory of Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy (LGEER), Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Technology, Hassiba Benbouali University of Chlef, Algeria

Received: 10 Feb 2025; Revised: 9 Jun 2025; Accepted: 10 Jun 2025; Available online: 19 Jun 2025; Published: 30 Oct 2025.
Editor(s): Istadi Istadi
Open Access Copyright (c) 2025 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Abstract

This modeling study aimed to simulate hydrogen production through dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in an argon-methane mixture at atmospheric pressure. Argon was selected as an additive due to its high ionization potential, which is expected to facilitate methane dissociation and enhance plasma reactivity. A series of simulations were conducted to assess the impact of varying argon concentrations (ranging from 0% to 90%) on hydrogen generation. A one-dimensional fluid model was employed to investigate methane conversion within the DBD reactor. This approach enabled a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of different Ar/CH₄ ratios, including pure methane, on reactor performance and key plasma characteristics, such as electron density, ion density, and species concentrations. The findings revealed that increasing the argon content significantly enhanced the ionization rate of methane and increased the discharge current, which directly correlated with higher electron density. Moreover, methane conversion efficiency and hydrogen production were found to be strongly dependent on the Ar/CH₄ ratio, with the highest hydrogen yield observed at a 50:50 argon-to-methane mixture. Copyright © 2025 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Keywords: Dielectric barrier discharge; fluid model; methane conversion; Hydrogen; plasma
Funding: Hassiba Benbouali University of Chlef

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Section: Original Research Articles
Language : EN
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