Biogas with fluctuating composition is reformed with non-thermal plasma (NTP) as a form of fuel processing, increasing the efficiency and reducing emissions of internal combustion engines. Biogas is a mixture of methane (typically CH₄, ~ 60%) and carbon dioxide (typically CO₂, ~ 40%) produced from the decomposition of organic wastes that is used as a gaseous fuel. However, depending on the decomposition process, the CO₂ content can be excessively high (~ 60%), reducing the energy content. Alternatively, the CO₂ could be separated and captured from the biogas to produce bio-compressed natural gas with the option to sequester the CO₂ and mitigate climate change. This study uses a dielectric barrier discharge reactor that produces NTP to convert less favorable biogas compositions and CO₂, to higher hydrocarbons, hence increasing the energy content. The syngas is injected into a dual-fuel spark ignition (DFSI) engine, and the flue emissions are measured to determine the change in efficiency, based on the potential amount of recoverable energy from reductions in emissions and increase in flue gas temperatures (FGT). Results show that after reforming with NTP, the biogas energy content increases by 72–118% due to increased presence of hydrocarbons. When the syngas is injected into the DFSI engine, the hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions in the flue gas reduce by 4–9%, the FGT increases from 180 to 309 °C, and the efficiency increases by 3–26%. The DFSI engine’s throttle opening changes the in-cylinder air–fuel ratio, which affect the flue gas temperatures and the resulting emissions.

具有波动成分的沼气使用非热等离子体 (NTP) 作为燃料处理形式进行重整，从而提高效率并减少内燃机的排放。沼气是由用作气体燃料的有机废物分解产生的甲烷（通常为 CH ₄，~60%）和二氧化碳（通常为 CO ₂，~40%）的混合物。然而，根据分解过程，CO ₂含量可能过高（~60%），从而降低能量含量。或者，可以从沼气中分离和捕获CO ₂以生产生物压缩天然气，并可选择封存 CO ₂和减缓气候变化。本研究使用介质阻挡放电反应器，该反应器产生 NTP 来转化不太有利的沼气成分和 CO ₂, 更高级的碳氢化合物，因此增加了能量含量。将合成气注入双燃料火花点火 (DFSI) 发动机，并根据排放减少和烟气温度 (FGT) 升高可回收的潜在能量，测量烟气排放以确定效率变化. 结果表明，使用 NTP 重整后，由于碳氢化合物的存在，沼气能量含量增加了 72-118%。将合成气注入DFSI发动机后，烟气中的碳氢化合物和一氧化碳排放量减少4-9%，FGT从180°C提高到309°C，效率提高3-26%。DFSI 发动机的节气门开度会改变缸内空燃比，从而影响烟气温度和由此产生的排放。