Aims and overview
The reduction of fossil fuel consumption and of CO2 emission is one of the key challenges for the next decades. Hydrocarbon-based chemical fuels are currently the dominant form of energy storage, due to their high energy density. These fuels can still be part of a renewable energy driven system, as long as the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by burning them is recaptured and recycled. PREMiERE explores a course of action where the excess electrical power produced by solar or wind generators is converted and stored into hydrocarbon fuels, thus replacing fossil fuels by renewable fuels!
Partners and people
Annemie Bogaerts Nikolay Britun Olivier Guaitella Richard Engeln Richard van de Sanden Stefan Welzel
Vasco Guerra Carlos Pintassilgo Carlos Silva
Luís Lemos Alves Mário Lino da Silva Nuno Pinhão
Tiago Silva
Carlos Teixeira Marija Grofulovic Polina Ogloblina
Loann Terraz Duarte Nina
The limiting step in the process is CO2 dissociation. This is a strongly endothermic process, which makes it difficult to activate CO2 efficiently by conventional thermal and catalytic reaction processes. Nonequilibrium plasma technologies are in a good position to give the answer to this problem. In short, the nonequilibrium nature of plasma allows for
energetically efficient CO2 dissociation, with input of vibrational quanta in low levels and subsequent pumping during relaxation. The specific aim of
PREMiERE is to acquire a deep understanding of dissociation of CO2 by nonequilibrium plasmas, in order to achieve its control and optimization.
PREMiERE consists on a thorough theoretical and simulation investigation of all the steps involved in plasma decomposition of CO2. The work will be done in close collaboration with several foreign laboratories, who have important experimental facilities and will conduct a series of measurement campaigns that complement the theoretical investigation