Energy‐efficient plasma conversion of greenhouse gases to methanol, the fuel of the future Acronym: OPTANIC.

While the drastic climate actions across the globe are focusing on CO2 emissions, methane (CH4) poises an even greater threat in the nearby future. It is known that methane is nearly 25 times more potent as greenhouse gas compared to CO2. In this project, a concept for the production of methanol fuel (CH3OH) from the greenhouse gases CH4 and CO2 is developed, by making use of a novel, fully electrified plasma process. The complete setup includes a novel movable electrode stable atmospheric pressure glow discharge reactor (background and property of UAntwerpen), a methanol synthesis reactor, and a gas control system, aiming for optimal energy efficiency. The aim of the plasma process is the conversion of CH4 and CO2 into syngas, with optimal H2/CO ratio of 2, for methanol synthesis. This will be investigated in a broad range of applied power, gas flow rate and CH4/CO2 ratio, as well as by introduction of water vapor, to realize this optimal H2/CO ratio. The scientific work will be carried out at BlueApp, the innovative pre‐incubator for sustainable chemistry.

Keywords:METHANE, PLASMA, PLASMA CHEMISTRY, CO2 CONVERSION

Disciplines:Chemistry of plasmas, Chemical process design