The study contributes to the transition towards a circular carbon economy by providing a scalable and energy-efficient solution for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) valorization. This aligns with global efforts to combat climate change, particularly reinforcing the European Union’s Green Deal objectives to reduce fossil-based emissions and achieve carbon neutrality. This study aims to explore the potential of plasma-based technologies for CO 2 dissociation for subsequent green methanol synthesis using gas mixtures of carbon monoxide (CO), CO 2 and hydrogen (H 2 ). Utilizing sustainable CO 2 sources, e.g. like biogas plants, plasma offers an efficient method to dissociate CO 2 into CO at ambient pressures especially with a gliding arc as one of the most promising candidate as plasma source. Thus, this type of plasma source is investigated here to explore the benefits for a potential subsequent catalytic hydrogenation to methanol. For this reason, different synthetic gas mixtures are employed in a catalytic methanol synthesis process based on a CuZnOAl 2 O 3 catalyst. The experimental results of the methanol synthesis of this study shows an enhancement of the yield by admixtures of CO. Oxygen (O 2 ) removal after the plasma processing as well as the balance between methanol yields improvement and energy consumption of the plasma operation are discussed. The findings demonstrate the possibilities of plasma technologies in fostering the next generation of climate-neutral fuel production. • Methanol yield and purity rise towards higher CO/CO₂ ratio (Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 catalyst). • CO production by gliding arcs show highest efficiency compared to alternatives. • Most efficient gliding arc configuration was 2 mm gap & 5 SLM (about 5 mol% CO). • Combined plasma technology and methanol synthesis foster carbon re-use.
Hink et al. (2026) studied this question.