First industrial demonstration of plasma-based CO2 conversion

Plasma technology is being explored as an avenue for many molecular conversions, such as methane reforming. Now, for the first time, a plasma-based CO₂-conversion technology is being demonstrated industrially. The proprietary technology, developed by D-CRBN (Antwerp, Belgium; www.d-crbn.com), is being trialed at a steel plant operated by ArcelorMittal S.A. (Luxembourg; www.arcelormittal.com) in Ghent, Belgium. “Our modular and scalable plasma technology is capable of splitting the CO₂ molecule into CO in a fully electrified, gaseous phase, without solvents or catalysts,” explains David Ziegler, chief commercial officer and co-founder of D-CRBN.

At ArcelorMittal Ghent, CO₂ emissions from steelmaking are being collected by a carbon-capture unit operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI; Tokyo; www.mhi.com). The captured CO₂ is then fed to D-CRBN’s system for conversion into CO, which can be fed back to the furnace as a reductant (replacing a portion of the coke or metallurgical coal used in the blast furnace). In other projects, the generated CO could also be used to produce value-added chemicals, such as fuels or organic acids.

The modular nature of the technology makes it both portable and highly scalable, and the plasma unit has a small footprint, meaning that the system can easily be placed at point-source locations. Furthermore, D-CRBN’s process can work with a wide range of CO₂ concentrations, including streams with up to 50 vol.% nitrogen dilution, without impacting the efficiency of the conversion reaction. The ability to use dilute gas streams, notes Ziegler, greatly impacts the costs associated with upstream CO₂ capture and purification units.

This industrial pilot has a maximum conversion capacity of 1,000 ton/yr of CO₂. “By 2026, we aim to progress to our first commercial-scale unit, which will have capacity to convert 10,000 ton/yr of CO₂ in a mobile plug-and-play configuration,” adds Ziegler.