CO2 Valorisation by Plasma Discharge – COVADIS

The COVADIS project brings together specialists from the plasma and chemistry communities. It aims to develop a plasma-assisted chemical process for the synthesis of organic molecules by selective carboxylation of unsaturated hydrocarbon molecules in aqueous solution exposed to a CO2 (post-)discharge. The activation of the CO2 used for the reaction will be carried out by means of 3 discharges with different characteristics: a diffuse DBD, a filamentary DBD and a discharge ignited directly into CO2 bubbles within the liquid. The mechanisms at work in the (post-)discharge, in the liquid phase, as well as during their coupling will be studied. A detailed study of the mechanism of carboxylation by purely catalytic chemical process, as recently demonstrated, will be carried out. Understanding what makes the CO2 molecule reactive under these conditions will help us to understand how a similar result can be achieved by plasma activation. All the knowledge thus acquired will be used for the development of the synthesis process, whose reliability and selectivity will be demonstrated.