Plasma assisted catalysis – a new look at CO2 as raw material.

Conversion of greenhouse gases to valuable raw materials for the chemical industry.

The international strategy to combat global warming is
primarily focused on reducing emissions of greenhouse
gases. The conversion of harmful greenhouse gases
to more valuable components, such as intermediate
products for the chemical industry, is an alternative
certainly worth investigating. Such a conversion offers
not only a sustainable solution, but is also economically
interesting. Natural gas and greenhouse gases are
usefully applied in this way to replace expensive and
unsustainable fossil fuels. The search for a second life
for greenhouse gases is an especially relevant avenue
of research for Flanders, with its high concentration of
chemical companies, refineries and power stations, all
of which are sources of CO2.
Technologically, the conversion of greenhouse gases
such as CO2 is not self-evident since they consist of
inert molecules that are difficult to transform. Conversion
in the traditional way used a large amount of energy
and was not very selective. Atmospheric plasma,
due to the presence of high-energy electrons, allows
activation of inert molecules at room temperature and
atmospheric pressure. However, combination with a
catalyst is required to reduce the energy barriers and
promote selective reactions. VITO is studying the perspectives
of this technology mix, also called plasma
assisted catalysis. Together with the Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven, the University of Antwerp and FLAMAC
(Flanders Materials Centre) and with the support of
IWT Flanders (Institute for the Promotion of Innovation
by Science and Technology in Flanders), it is presently
developing a process for the plasma assisted conversion
of greenhouse gases to chemicals with an added
value for industry.
A few of the promising reactions studied by VITO are
the partial oxidation of methane to methanol, and the
conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide
(CO). Methanol and carbon monoxide are two
intermediate products much sought after in the chemical
industry. In addition to the process optimisation,
supported by advanced numerical modelling, research
is also focusing on the reactors themselves. VITO has
already constructed a first plasma catalysis reactor
for the research; two additional high-throughput prototypes
should deliver more data on the new process
during the course of the project.