Plasma catalytic technology for CH4 and CO2 conversion: A review highlighting fluidized-bed plasma reactor

Abstract

The plasma catalytic valorization of gases, particularly CH4 and CO2, has gained increasing attention. Value-added chemicals, such as syngas and ethene, can be formed under mild conditions when temperature-decoupled plasma activation and multistep feasible catalytic conversion are combined. In this sense, efficient plasma–catalyst interaction is of key importance, for which, however, plasma catalysis, as an emerging technology, is still poorly studied, where new catalyst design and investigation took up the most effort. In this perspective work, the challenging but equally important plasma–catalyst interaction is discussed, comparatively analyzing which type of plasma, catalyst bed, is the most promising. Representative plasma catalytic systems with their characteristic features are summarized, where the intrinsic capability of fluidized-bed dielectric barrier discharge (FB-DBD) reactor to maximize the plasma–catalyst interaction is highlighted. Furthermore, ongoing research on FB plasma catalysis is reviewed, based on which the superiority of FB-DBD to other candidates, especially the most widely used packed-bed DBD reactor, is critically evaluated. In addition, the perspectives of FB-DBD, including challenges and development potential, are discussed.