Renewable electricity driven chemical conversion:Novel pathways provided by plasma enhanced chemistry

In a circular CO₂ neutral society, the direct electrification of chemical conversion processes is one of the biggest challenges to achieve deep decarbonisation after 2030. The re-use of (air captured) carbon dioxide, the end product of the oxidation of dense energy carriers, for synthetic fuels and chemicals is required. Also in this context, nitrogen fixation in the form of NH₃ or NO_x is unquestionably one of the most important chemical conversion processes. These electricity driven chemical conversion processes are also needed to mitigate intermittency of renewable energy sources by providing seasonal storage, as well as non-fossil based feedstock for the chemical industry.

The use of electrons, from renewable electricity, or photons, directly from the sun, provide scientific and technological opportunities to develop novel pathways for chemical conversion. In this talk, after an introduction to the challenges facing the world in the next decades, I will discuss the opportunities of using plasmas, powered by renewable electricity, for scalable gas conversion of stable key molecules such as CO₂ and N₂. In particular, I will address the use of microwave generated plasma to dissociate CO₂ into CO and O₂, the formation of NO_x from N₂/O₂ mixtures and the possible, often claimed, role of nonequilibrium vibrational kinetics in these conversion processes. An outlook on potential game changing application of non-thermal plasma, next to the use as a high temperature heating source, and in combination with catalyst, will be discussed.