Comparison of CO2 hydrogenation in a catalytic reactor and in a dielectric-barrier discharge

Conversion of the greenhouse gas CO, with hydrogen to methanol is studied in a conventional tubular packed-bed reactor filled with a copper-based catalyst. The performance of different catalysts was tested. An alternative approach is investigated using a dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) reactor with and without the aid of a catalyst inside the discharge space. Comparison of the results shows that the simultaneous presence of discharge and catalyst led to a substantial lowering of the optimum temperature range from 220 degrees C, in the packed-bed reactor, to about 100 degrees C inside the discharge. Regarding the DBD reactor, the remarkable finding is a substantial increase of the methanol yield (factor of ten) when the catalyst is introduced into the discharge space.