Sorption-Enhanced Dry Reforming of Methane in a DBD Plasma Reactor for Single-Stage Carbon Capture and Utilization

Abstract

Plasma-sorbent systems are a novel technology for single-stage carbon capture and utilization (CCU), where the plasma enables the desorption of CO₂ from a sorbent and the simultaneous conversion to CO. In this study, we test the flexibility of a plasma-sorbent system in a single unit, specifically for sorption-enhanced dry reforming of methane (DRM). The experimental results indicate the selective adsorption of CO₂ by the sorbent zeolite 5A in the first step, and CH₄ addition during the plasma-based desorption of CO₂ enables DRM to various value-added products in the second step, such as H₂, CO, hydrocarbons, and the byproduct H₂O. Furthermore, our work also demonstrates that zeolite has the potential to increase the conversion of CO₂ and CH₄, attributed to its capability to capture H₂O. Aside from the notable carbon deposition, material analysis shows that the zeolite remains relatively stable under plasma exposure.