CFD Simulation of a Hydrogen/Argon Plasma Jet Reactor for Coal Pyrolysis

A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was formulated for DC arc hydrogen/argon plasma jet reactors used in the process of the thermal H2/Ar plasma pyrolysis of coal to acetylene. In this model, fluid flow, convective heat transfer and conjugate heat conductivity are considered simultaneously. The error caused by estimating the inner-wall temperature of a reactor is avoided. The thermodynamic and transport properties of the hydrogen/argon mixture plasma system, which are usually expressed by a set of discrete dats, are fitted into expressions that can be easily implemented in the program. The effects of the turbulence are modeled by two standard k-s equations. The temperature field and velocity field in the plasma jet reactor were calculated by employing SIMPLEST algorithm. The knowledge and insight obtained are useful for the design improvement and scale-up of plasma reactors.