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Progress in plasma-catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to fuel: Reaction pathway modulation and multiscale numerical simulation

Author

Listed:
  • Chang, Rende
  • Ding, Chengyi
  • Long, Hongming
  • Lv, Xuewei
  • Chun, Tiejun
  • Peng, Cheng
  • Wei, Rufei
  • Xu, Xiaoqing
  • Yan, Zhiming
  • Sun, Yue
  • Lv, Wei

Abstract

The urgent pursuit of global carbon neutrality highlights the demand for efficient carbon dioxide pricing technologies in energy chemistry. Traditional CO2 thermal catalytic hydrogenation is limited by various factors, which hinder its industrial scalability. This review comprehensively discusses recent advancements and challenges in plasma-assisted CO2 conversion, focusing on catalytic system innovation, reaction mechanism reconstruction, and multiscale simulations. Plasma catalysis addresses these limitations by utilizing non-equilibrium activation and synergies from multiple physical fields. In methane (CH4) reforming, controlling metal-support interactions improves active site dispersion and intermediate stability. For the reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction, catalysts with high oxygen vacancy concentrations, strong anti-coking properties, and uniform nano-metal particle distribution break conventional selectivity limits. In methanol (CH3OH) synthesis, atomic-level active site design and adsorption energy modulation overcome thermodynamic constraints. This review further reveals the plasma-induced pathway reconstruction mechanism, and focuses on introducing a multi-scale theoretical framework that integrates multiple algorithms and models, providing quantitative analytical tools for micro reaction kinetics and macro reactor optimization. Finally, this article objectively points out the three challenges faced-dependence on precious metals, energy efficiency optimization bottlenecks, and difficulties in dynamic interface control-and proposes future research directions for multi field coupling, digital twin platforms, and modular reactor integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Chang, Rende & Ding, Chengyi & Long, Hongming & Lv, Xuewei & Chun, Tiejun & Peng, Cheng & Wei, Rufei & Xu, Xiaoqing & Yan, Zhiming & Sun, Yue & Lv, Wei, 2026. "Progress in plasma-catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to fuel: Reaction pathway modulation and multiscale numerical simulation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:228:y:2026:i:c:s1364032125012705
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2025.116597
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