Plasma Catalysis For Environmental And Energy Related Applications

Plasma catalysis has been a topic of research for many years due to its potential for applications in a wide range of chemical, environmental, and energy-related processes. Non-thermal plasma offers an unconventional way to initiate chemical reactions in gas and in liquid due to the energetic electrons generated in the plasma; however, it suffers from low selectivity. The coupling of plasma with catalysis can steer the reactions in the desired direction, thus ensuring improved selectivity towards the target products and reducing unwanted ones. Environmental applications of plasma catalysis have been focused on the removal of various air and water pollutants, while energy applications include hydrogen, syngas and ammonia production. This Special Issue demonstrates plasma catalysis as a solution to environmental problems caused by the greenhouses gases CO2 and CH4, which can be converted to value-added products and fuels, air pollution with stable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds, and water pollution with pharmaceutical products.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the field of plasma catalysis, regarded as a promising alternative to thermal processes for energy and environmental applications. It bridges the gap between the plasma and catalysis research communities, covering both the fundamentals of plasma catalysis and its application in environmental and energy research. The first section of the book offers a broad introduction to plasma catalysis, covering plasma-catalyst systems, interactions, and modeling. The core of the book then focuses on different applications, describing a wide range of plasma-catalytic processes in catalyst synthesis, environmental clean-up, greenhouse gas conversion and synthesis of materials for energy applications. Chapters cover topics ranging from removal of NOx and VOCs to conversion of methane, carbon dioxide and the reforming of ethanol and methanol. Written by a group of world-leading researchers active in the field, the book forms a valuable resource for scientists, engineers and students with different research backgrounds including plasma physics, plasma chemistry, catalysis, energy, environmental engineering, electrical engineering and material engineering.

Plasma catalysis is gaining increasing interest for various gas conversion applications, such as CO2 conversion into value-added chemicals and fuels, N2 fixation for the synthesis of NH3 or NOx, methane conversion into higher hydrocarbons or oxygenates. It is also widely used for air pollution control (e.g., VOC remediation). Plasma catalysis allows thermodynamically difficult reactions to proceed at ambient pressure and temperature, due to activation of the gas molecules by energetic electrons created in the plasma. However, plasma is very reactive but not selective, and thus a catalyst is needed to improve the selectivity. In spite of the growing interest in plasma catalysis, the underlying mechanisms of the (possible) synergy between plasma and catalyst are not yet fully understood. Indeed, plasma catalysis is quite complicated, as the plasma will affect the catalyst and vice versa. Moreover, due to the reactive plasma environment, the most suitable catalysts will probably be different from thermal catalysts. More research is needed to better understand the plasma–catalyst interactions, in order to further improve the applications.

Filling the gap for a book that covers not only plasma in gases but also in liquids, this is all set to become the standard reference for this topic. It provides a broad-based overview of plasma-chemical and plasmacatalytic processes generated by electrical discharges in gases, liquids and gas/liquid environments in both fundamental and applied aspects by focusing on their environmental and green applications and also taking into account their practical and economic viability. With the topics addressed by an international group of major experts, this is a must-have for scientists, engineers, students and postdoctoral researchers specializing in this field.

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a promising and rapidly emerging technology for a wide range of applications, from daily life to industry. CAP’s key advantage is its unique ability to effectively deliver reactive species to subjects including biological materials, liquid media, aerosols, and manufactured surfaces. This book assesses the state-of-art in CAP research and implementation for applications including agriculture, medicine, environment, materials, catalysis, and energy. The mechanisms of generation and transport of the key reactive species in the plasma are introduced and examined in the context of their applications. Opportunities and challenges for novel technologies, fresh ideas/concepts, expanded multidisciplinary study, and new applications are discussed. The authors’ vision for the converging trends across diverse disciplines is proposed to stimulate critical discussions, research directions, and collaborations.

Low-temperature non-equilibrium gaseous discharges represent nearly ideal media for boosting plasma-based chemical reactions. In these discharges the energy of plasma electrons, after being received from the electromagnetic field, is transferred to the other degrees of freedom differently, ideally with only a small part going to the translational motion of heavy gas particles. This unique property enables the important application of non-equilibrium plasmas for greenhouse gas conversion. While the degree of discharge non-equilibrium often defines the energetic efficiency of conversion, other factors are also of a great importance, such as type of discharge, presence of plasma catalysis, etc. This book is focused on the recent achievements in optimization and understanding of non-equilibrium plasma for gas conversion via plasma modeling and experimental work.

Clearly structured in five major sections on applications, this monograph covers such hot technologies as nanotechnology, solar cell technology, biomedical and clinical applications, and sustainability. Since the topic, applications and readers are highly interdisciplinary, the book bridges materials science, industrial chemistry, physics, and engineering -- making it a must-have for researchers in industry and academia, as well as those working in application-oriented plasma technology.

This book is part of a two-volume work that offers a unique blend of information on realistic evaluations of catalyst-based synthesis processes using green chemistry principles and the environmental sustainability applications of such processes for biomass conversion, refining, and petrochemical production. The volumes provide a comprehensive resource of state-of-the-art technologies and green chemistry methodologies from researchers, academics, and chemical and manufacturing industrial scientists. The work will be of interest to professors, researchers, and practitioners in clean energy catalysis, green chemistry, chemical engineering and manufacturing, and environmental sustainability. This volume focuses on catalyst synthesis and green chemistry applications for petrochemical and refining processes. While most books on the subject focus on catalyst use for conventional crude, fuel-oriented refineries, this book emphasizes recent transitions to petrochemical refineries with the goal of evaluating how green chemistry applications can produce clean energy through petrochemical industrial means. The majority of the chapters are contributed by industrial researchers and technicians and address various petrochemical processes, including hydrotreating, hydrocracking, flue gas treatment and isomerization catalysts.