Non-thermal plasma based reactor systems have revolutionized many fields such as dry reforming, chemical synthesis, biomass gasification, and waste treatment technology. The low power consumptions, low pressure options, and easy elimination of unwanted by-products make plasma technology popular among researchers and engineers alike. Plasma based reactions are more efficient with the use of catalysts, which lowers the activation energy needed. This study brings together works on non-thermal plasma-assisted catalytic reactions. Plasma can be generated by various methods; this paper focuses on strictly microwave plasma. Microwaves allow for the selective delivery of electromagnetic energy to the active sites on the catalyst surface. This selectivity can lower the bulk temperature, which results in higher product yields and favors lower equilibrium temperatures. A thorough categorization and comparison of microwave plasma-assisted catalytic reactions are presented here with highlights on future contribution to this field. The applications can be broadly classified into methane utilization, carbon dioxide reformations, and chemical synthesis while highlighting the advancements in the past decade. As well as a further summary of the mechanistic studies involved the microwave plasma-assisted catalytic reactions.

Applications of microwave plasma catalysis

256th National Meeting (2018)

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