Germany: Power-to-X Technology Renewable Energies: CO₂ Splitting by Microwave Plasma

Among the pool of Power-to-X technologies, plasmas show high potential for the efficient use of intermittent renewable energies. New research shows that ultrafast pulsation of microwaves allow significant improvements of energy efficiencies during CO₂ splitting at atmospheric pressure.

Karlsruhe/Germany — To mitigate the effects of climate change, we must not only reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, but also remove existing CO₂ from the atmosphere. With power-to-X technologies and renewable energies, CO₂ can be split into carbon monoxide and oxygen and converted into synthetic materials such as fuels. In the process, plasmas under low pressures achieve record efficiencies in CO₂ splitting. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have shown that efficient CO₂ splitting is possible even at atmospheric pressure using plasmas with ultrashort microwave pulses. Their results are published in the journal ACS Energy Letters.

The goal was to extend the potential benefits of microwave-assisted plasmas to the atmospheric pressure regime. The scientists succeeded in significantly improving CO₂ splitting in plasma by using extremely short microwave pulses. The researchers were able to experimentally demonstrate non-equilibrium states in atmospheric CO₂ microwave plasmas for the first time, which can be tuned thanks to the ultrashort pulses, allowing them to increase efficiencies.

Previous methods for CO₂ splitting using plasma worked in vacuum to create non-equilibrium states due to the low pressure, allowing more efficient energy use. However, this approach in vacuum systems would not be suitable for industrial use due to high equipment requirements and high energy costs, says Alexander Navarrete from the Institute of Micro Process Engineering.

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