Catalytic nonthermal plasma assisted co-processing of methane and nitrous oxide for methanol production

•Nonthermal plasma assisted conversion of greenhouse gases into value addition.•Methanol/formaldehyde formation by co-processing of methane and nitrous oxide.•Improved performance of plasma reactor on addition of CuO/CeO2 catalysts.•The best selectivity of >35% to methanol with catalytic plasma reactor.

The objective of the present study is the direct conversion of potential greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) into value added products like methanol, syngas, etc. in a nonthermal plasma reactor operated under ambient conditions. Typical results indicated that co-processing of the reactants has an advantage of in-situ decomposition of N2O into N2 and atomic oxygen that favors methane partial oxidation to methanol. In order to improve the selectivity to methanol, plasma reactor was operated by integrating CuO/CeO2, NiO/CeO2 and Cu-Ni (5-5)/CeO2 catalysts. Among the studied catalysts, Cu-Ni (5:5 wt%) supported on ceria showed the best selectivity of ∼36% to methanol.

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