Scientists from Sydney and China have developed a new method using nonthermal plasma (NTP) technology to directly convert biogas, a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, into valuable solid products. This breakthrough offers a promising way to utilise greenhouse gases and potentially create new materials.
While cold plasma technology has been used in the past to convert biogas carbon into simpler compounds, the process has been limited. These earlier methods typically produced a mix of various chemicals, making them less useful for practical applications.
This new approach utilises NTP, which generates a stream of energetic electrons, ions, and radicals. By bubbling the biogas through water and exposing it to the NTP discharge, researchers were able to create a variety of products, including solid hydrocarbons, liquid products and gaseous products.
The process could be used to generate feedstocks for the existing petroleum industry. With further research, the solid products could be refined into high-energy fuels like jet fuel. Additionally, the technology could be applied to treat biogas from landfills, creating valuable products while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The solids produced may also have applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and synthetic materials industries.
Despite the promising results, there are still hurdles to overcome. The current process produces a mixture of various hydrocarbons, which may not be ideal for all applications. Additionally, the cold plasma reactor consumes a significant amount of energy. Plasma reactors have limitations in size due to how they generate electricity. The paper is published in Journal of the American Chemical Society 2024.
