In this study, the decomposition of biomass gasification tar compound is investigated in the pure N2 and different mixtures of gases using a Dielectric barrier discharge reactor. The effect of different parameters such as plasma power and temperature is also evaluated on the performance of the process. The decomposition of the tar model compound increases in all carrier gases with increasing power from 5 to 40 W. The energy efficiency of the process started to decrease with increasing power and it shows a minimum value at 40 W. At lower power, the maximum decomposition of the tar model compound was in pure N2 among all carrier gases. At 5 W, the following order of the decomposition of the tar model compound is shown: N2> Mixture 1 (53%) > Mixture 2 (50 %). Plasma input power plays a significant role in the decomposition of the tar model compound. As the power is increased. The difference between the decomposition of tar model compound significantly decreases. From 20 to 40 W, the decomposition was nearly similar in all carrier gases. At 10 W, the difference between the decomposition of the tar model compound significantly decreases. However, the product distribution significantly depends on the plasma input power and the nature of the carrier gas. Higher power promotes the formation of gaseous products. The maximum amount of unwanted toxic product formation occurred in pure N2 carrier gas. A significant amount of solid residue formation occurred in all carrier gases. The surrounding temperature of the reactor is increased from ambient to 400 oC in the presence of H2 carrier gas. The solid formation significantly reduces and the formation of methane increases at elevated temperatures. This study could be helpful in achieving SDG 7.
