Recent progress and future directions in plasma-assisted biomass conversion to hydrogen

Recent advances in biohydrogen production using plasma processes have brought opportunities to replace fossil fuels with a sustainable and green source of energy from biomass. This work provides a comprehensive elucidation regarding the principal concepts, procedures, benefits, and drawbacks of plasma-based biomass conversion processes to produce hydrogen (H2) including pyrolysis, reforming, and gasification. In the past, plasma was considered as alternative process for H2 production, and this paper surveys the impact of process variations and catalysts reported in recent research to foster the performance of possible plasma-based H2 production processes, including both non-thermal plasma (NTP) and thermal plasma (TP). Recent research has opened new, multifacetted directions for plasma applications of biomass. This includes biogas conversions to syngas and other gases, NTP for biomass-derived tar compound conversion, combination of biomass gasification and NTP reforming employing a two-stage reactor, and biomass thermal pretreatment. Several approaches are introduced, including the advancement of catalysts within plasma conversion processes, along with novel strategies to enhance the efficiency of plasma-based H2 production and productivity, which are thoroughly examined and deliberated upon. This review aims to answer three questions: Can plasma be applied to convert various kinds of biomass into H2 with sustainability? For which of the process steps from biomass to H2 involved does plasma suit? When is NTP needed, when TP