DC glow discharge - Fluidized bed reactor for CO₂ recycling

The increase in global temperature is attributed to the greenhouse gas effect especially from carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Non-thermal plasmas (NTP) can provide the highly energetic environment needed for CO₂ conversion. Therefore, a plasma-catalysis approach could offer a significant advantage by improving conversion, selectivity and energy efficiency. Fluidized bed reactors increase the surface contact area with the gas phase and improve the heat transfer. A DC glow discharge ignited in a fluidized bed with and without Alumina (Al₂O₃) particles is investigated with aid of Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) at low pressure. It is observed a decay in Oxygen atom density through the fluidization of the material and an increase in the intensity of CO systems, specifically 3^rd positive system which could be due CO density, electron density and/or electric field, in comparison to the plasma alone. This indicates that fluidized particles indeed cause a reduction in the O presence and could lead to an increase in CO density. In addition, temperature of rotation was calculated by CO Angstrom system. The results confirmed the decrease in gas temperature in the positive column in comparison to plasma without catalyst. This effect is mostly attributed to increase radial heat transport towards the reactor walls in the fluidized bed. The plasma-assisted catalytic behavior was further investigated by FTIR for the characterization of the downstream gas from glow discharge/FBR resulting on superior performance than the glow discharge alone. The development of this innovative route is crucial to understanding the enhancement of plasma-surface interaction for CO₂ recycling.