Plasma-driven dissociation of CO₂ for fuel synthesis

Power-to-gas is a storage technology aiming to convert surplus electricity from renewable energy sources like wind and solar power into gaseous fuels compatible with the current network infrastructure. Results of CO2 dissociation in a vortex-stabilized microwave plasma reactor are presented. The microwave field, residence time, quenching, and vortex configuration were varied to investigate their influence on energy- and conversion efficiency of CO2 dissociation. Significant deterioration of the energy efficiency is observed at forward vortex plasmas upon increasing pressure in the range of 100 mbar towards atmospheric pressure, which is mitigated by using a reverse vortex flow configuration of the plasma reactor. Data from optical emission shows that under all conditions covered by the experiments the gas temperature is in excess of 4000 K, suggesting a predominant thermal dissociation. Different strategies are proposed to enhance energy and conversion efficiencies of plasma-driven dissociation of CO2.