(2as) Carbon Capture and Utilization Using Non-Equilibrium Plasmas

A sustainable energy future requires negative carbon emissions, i.e., capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and convert CO2 into value-added chemicals. Furthermore, the engineered systems for Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) need to fit well into the infrastructure based on renewable electricity, where the energy supply is distributed, irregular and sometimes intermittent. Different from traditional high-thermal-inertia energy-intensive chemical processes, flexible sustainable and electrified engineered systems are urgently needed for future large-scale CCU projects.

My research interest is to apply non-thermal plasmas (NTPs) to solve global energy challenges such as CCU. NTPs are a so-called “turnkey” process with 100% electricity input. In NTPs, the heavy species temperature is close to room temperature while the electron temperature can reach 10⁵ K. Such unique non-equilibrium makes it efficient for exciting and dissociating chemical species without unnecessary heat. Plasma chemical engineering has been proven to be scalable, for example, in the production of ozone. Such scalability is critical for CCU challenges as the global CO2 emissions have reached 37 gigatons in the year of 2022.

Previous research in this area mostly focused on low-pressure (0.01 bar – 0.2 bar) plasma-assisted CO2 dissociation. However, large-scale CCU systems typically operate at a pressure of 1-10 bar. Knowledge gap and technological barriers exist for high pressure CO2 conversions. In addition, the plasma processing of the sorbent material during the carbon capture process remains unknown. The technical questions leading my research program include:

• What is the fundamental energy transfer process between plasma sources, CO2, and materials (sorbents, catalysts, etc.)?
• What are the principles for designing plasma processes for increasing the energy efficiency during CO2 splitting, CO2 adsorption/desorption, and CO2 conversion to other chemicals (CH3OH, CH2O, etc.)? Is there any fundamental limit for the efficiency?
• What is the “optimal” design for the plasma source that is compatible with the CCU facility? How should we develop plasma-based reactor engineering specifically for CCU applications?

My multidisciplinary academic background has fully prepared me to explore this promising interdisciplinary research area. Currently I am a postdoc at Stanford plasma physics lab, focusing on designing plasma sources for CO2 conversion and water splitting. During my PhD, I have been trained in the field of plasma-assisted combustion. I have been studying the chemical kinetics of plasmas and reactive mixtures (such as biofuels, hydrogen, ammonia, large hydrocarbons, etc.) using quantitative laser diagnostics throughout my career.

I envision my future research connecting fundamental plasma chemistry with global energy challenges, specifically, how to electrify carbon capture and utilization. The proposed research can be further extended to broader areas such as catalysis, fabrication, and agriculture.

Teaching Interests

I have been trained in thermodynamics and chemical kinetics. I can teach both undergraduate and graduate level courses related to thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and chemical kinetics. I am also passionate to develop a new graduate level course in plasma chemistry.