Plasma Technology for CO2 Conversion: A Personal Perspective on Prospects and Gaps

Abstract

There is increasing interest in plasma technology for CO 2 conversion because it can operate at mild conditions and it can store fluctuating renewable electricity into value-added compounds and renewable fuels. This perspective paper aims to provide a view on the future for non-specialists who want to understand the role of plasma technology in the new scenario for sustainable and low-carbon energy and chemistry. Thus, it is prepared to give a personal view on future opportunities and challenges. First, we introduce the current state-of-the-art and the potential of plasma-based CO 2 conversion. Subsequently, we discuss the challenges to overcome the current limitations and to apply plasma technology on a large scale. The final section discusses the general context and the potential benefits of plasma-based CO 2 conversion for our life and the impact on climate change. It also includes a brief analysis on the future scenario for energy and chemical production, and how plasma technology may realize new paths for CO 2 utilization.

Studying Co₂ Conversion in Dc Glow Discharge

“…The dependences of the conversion coefficient  and the conversion energy efficiency  against SEI for different CO 2 pressure values are shown in Fig. 10, from which it follows that in the total pressure range we have studied one requires considerable expenses for the CO 2 conversion, the SEI may approach 2000 eV/molecule. This is due to the fact that our studies encompassed the wide range of the input power including knowingly excessive power for converting the employed flow of carbon dioxide.…”

“…7. The () curve possess a characteristic patter, the qualitatively similar curves may be constructed for all types of plasma conversion [1,2,5,6]. For the cases of 'Top cathode' and 'Top anode' the results are similar qualitatively but the case of 'Top anode' demonstrates superiority in energy efficiency (up to doubling) and in the conversion coefficient.…”

“…A large number of papers is devoted to this problem (see, e.g. papers [1][2][3][4][5][6]). The reviews [1,2] have performed the analysis of the contemporary state of research into the plasma conversion in gas discharges of different types.…”

Comparing Molecular Mechanisms in Solar NH3 Production and Relations with CO2 Reduction

“…In NTP, the electron temperature is largely higher than the temperature of the other species and thus the radicals and excited species are formed close to ambient temperature. Combined with a catalyst (plasma catalysis [ 22 , 23 ]), NTP is a valuable alternative to conventional catalysis, because it directly generates activated species under ambient conditions. The control of the selective path of transformation derived from the presence of a catalyst allows us to explore new paths to produce chemicals by using renewable energy sources.…”

Burning Modes of a Bipolar Pulsed Discharge in Co2

“…Pulsed gas-discharge devices are broadly applied in plasma chemistry reactors performing carbon dioxide conversion [1][2][3][4], depositing thin films [5][6][7] and nanomaterials [8], plasma sterilization [9] etc. The reasons of the pulsed discharge broad application lie in a large number of its advantages over radio frequency and glow discharges.…”