Low temperature plasma desulfurization of JP-5

Fuel cells offer the potential of superior performance with respect to fuel efficiency and environmental impact when compared to conventional power generation systems. However, there remain several technical challenges in transitioning liquid fuels into pure hydrogen fuel for fuel cell consumption: reforming the fuel to a useful fuel cell feed such as hydrogen or methane and reducing the sulfur levels from ppm to ppb concentrations. FuelCell Energy investigated a non-catalytic hydrodesulfurization technology based on the application of silent discharge plasma. Non-thermal plasma activates gas phase chemical reactions by creating a non-equilibrium (non-thermal) state, which can be used to selectively activate chemical reactions. This effort focused on identifying process conditions under which the silent discharge plasma would promote conversion of sulfur compounds to hydrogen sulfide. Preliminary experimental results have exhibited evidence that the plasma technology has a potential for hydrogenation of the sulfur compounds in a logistic fuel such as JP-5.