A PLASIMO global model for plasma assisted CO$_2$ conversion

Conversion of CO$_2$ has become a major challenge of our time as it is of interest for the reduction of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, but also to store energy thereby relieving the supply and demand discrepancy of many alternative forms of energy. Plasma assisted CO$_2$ conversion is heavily investigated as an efficient method to achieve this goal. Numerical modeling is an important aspect of this investigation, but is difficult due to the complex chemistry. A global model has been constructed to focus on the CO$_2$ chemistry including its vibrational kinetics. The model has been realized using the global model module of PLASIMO, a highly modular plasma modeling framework. It is based on another model\footnote{Tom\'{a}\v{s} Koz\'{a}k and Annemie Bogaerts, submitted to Plasma Sources Sci. Tech.} that was constructed using the well-established code Global\_kin. The aim of the model is therefore twofold. First, to study the chemistry and identify the most important species and reactions and perform parametric studies. The knowledge gained can be applied to other, spatially resolved models. Second, by implementing the same chemistry in the two different global model codes, a cross validation can be performed, a vital scientific process often overlooked in practice.