(185a) Electrified Plasma-Swing Reactive Carbon Capture (RCC) Process for CO2 Upgrading to Useful Platform Molecules

Carbon capture and utilization is an increasingly important decarbonization strategy for climate change mitigation. Reactive carbon capture (RCC) technologies, in which capture and conversion of CO₂ occur in a single reactor, are particularly energetically and economically attractive by avoiding the need to purify, compress, and transport the captured CO₂. These technologies are enabled by dual function materials (DFM) that have both sorption and catalytic capabilities to capture CO₂ from dilute sources (i.e. air, flue gas) and convert it to useful C1 platform molecules (e.g. CH₄, CO, MeOH). Most RCC processes are thermally driven, and electrification offers the potential for deeper decarbonization, adaptability, and flexibility. In particular, the use of non-thermal plasma (NTP) offers many potential benefits: (1) activation of relatively unreactive molecules, like CO₂, at low temperatures (≤100°C), (2) rapid onset of reactive conditions to mitigate the release of unreacted CO₂, and (3) ease of on/off operation, facilitating a cyclic operation. Herein, we propose and explore a plasma-swing RCC operation, using a Ru+Na/Al₂O₃ DFM as proof-of-concept.