Microwave plasma setups for CO2 conversion: A mini-review

Global warming poses one of the most critical challenges of the 21st century, leading to significant environmental damage. The extraction and combustion of fossil fuels release substantial amounts of greenhouse gases, thereby contributing to climate change. In response to this pressing issue, plasma-based conversion of carbon dioxide has emerged as a prominent and widely explored solution. Among the various plasma technologies, microwave plasma setups have garnered considerable attention due to their exceptional ability to decompose carbon dioxide, facilitate the dry reforming of methane and reverse water gas shift. These setups are renowned for their high degree of ionization and generation of non-equilibrium plasma, making them a clean and highly efficient method for treating greenhouse gases. However, researchers often face challenges in selecting the appropriate microwave plasma reactors. Thus, the primary objective of this paper is to provide guidance on microwave plasma setups. It is achieved by illustrating experimental configurations based on the microwave operating mechanism and presenting a classification of microwave plasma sources according to their operating principles. Moreover, specific experimental operations are discussed within the scope of our analysis, offering valuable insights to researchers in this field.