Abstract: Plasma (catalysis) reactors are increasingly being used for gas-based chemical conversions, providing an alternative method of energy delivery to the molecules. In this work we explore whether classical concepts such as
equilibrium constants, (overall) rate coefficients, and catalysis exist under plasma conditions. We specifically
investigate the existence of a so-called partial chemical equilibrium (PCE), and how process parameters and
packing properties influence this equilibrium, as well as the overall apparent rate coefficient, for CO2 splitting in
a DBD plasma reactor. The results show that a PCE can be reached, and that the position of the equilibrium, in
combination with the rate coefficient, greatly depends on the reactor parameters and operating conditions (i.e.,
power, pressure, and gap size). A higher power, higher pressure, or smaller gap size enhance both the equilibrium constant and the rate coefficient, although they cannot be independently tuned. Inserting a packing
material (non-porous SiO2 and ZrO2 spheres) in the reactor reveals interesting gap/material effects, where the
type of material dictates the position of the equilibrium and the rate (inhibition) independently. As a result, no
apparent synergistic effect or plasma-catalytic behaviour was observed for the non-porous packing materials
studied in this reaction. Within the investigated parameters, equilibrium conversions were obtained between 23
and 71%, while the rate coefficient varied between 0.027 s−1 and 0.17 s−1. This method of analysis can provide
a more fundamental insight in the overall reaction kinetics of (catalytic) plasma-based gas conversion, in order
to be able to distinguish plasma effects from true catalytic enhancement.

Abstract: Plasma catalysis is gaining increasing interest for CO2 conversion, but the interaction between the plasma and catalyst is still poorly understood. This is caused by limited systematic materials research, since most works combine a plasma with commercial supported catalysts and packings. In the present paper, we study the influence of specific material and reactor properties, as well as reactor/bead configuration, on the conversion and energy efficiency of CO2 dissociation in a packed bed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. Of the various packing materials investigated, BaTiO3 yields the highest conversion and energy efficiency, i.e., 25% and 4.5%.
Our results show that, when evaluating the influence of catalysts, the impact of the packing (support) material itself cannot be neglected, since it can largely affect the conversion and energy efficiency. This shows the large potential for further improvement of packed bed plasma reactors for CO2 conversion and other chemical conversion reactions by adjusting both packing (support) properties and catalytically active sites. Moreover, we clearly prove that comparison of results obtained in different reactor setups should be done with care, since there is a large effect of the reactor setup and reactor/bead configuration.

Abstract: This paper demonstrates that the CO2 conversion in a dielectric barrier discharge rises drastically upon addition of Ar or He, and the effect is more pronounced for Ar than for He. The effective CO2 conversion, on the other hand, drops upon addition of Ar or He, which is logical due to the lower CO2 content in the gas mixture, and the same is true for the energy efficiency, because a considerable fraction of the energy is then consumed into ionization/excitation of Ar or He atoms. The higher absolute CO2 conversion upon addition of Ar or He can be explained by studying in detail the Lissajous plots and the current profiles. The breakdown voltage is lower in the CO2/Ar and CO2/He mixtures, and the discharge gap is more filled with plasma, which enhances the possibility for CO2 conversion. The rates of electron impact excitationdissociation of CO2, estimated from the electron densities and mean electron energies, are indeed higher in the CO2/Ar and (to a lower extent) in the CO2/He mixtures, compared to the pure CO2 plasma. Moreover, charge transfer between Ar+ or Ar2+ ions and CO2, followed by electron-ion dissociative recombination of the CO2+ ions, might also contribute to, or even be dominant for the CO2 dissociation. All these effects can explain the higher CO2 conversion, especially upon addition of Ar, but also upon addition of He.