Recent Developments in Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma-Assisted Catalytic Dry Reforming of Methane over Ni-Based Catalysts

The greenhouse effect is leading to global warming and destruction of the ecological environment. The conversion of carbon dioxide and methane greenhouse gases into valuable substances has attracted scientists’ attentions. Dry reforming of methane (DRM) alleviates environmental problems and converts CO2 and CH4 into valuable chemical substances; however, due to the high energy input to break the strong chemical bonds in CO2 and CH4, non-thermal plasma (NTP) catalyzed DRM has been promising in activating CO2 at ambient conditions, thus greatly lowering the energy input; moreover, the synergistic effect of the catalyst and plasma improves the reaction efficiency. In this review, the recent developments of catalytic DRM in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor on Ni-based catalysts are summarized, including the concept, characteristics, generation, and types of NTP used for catalytic DRM and corresponding mechanisms, the synergy and performance of Ni-based catalysts with DBD plasma, the design of DBD reactor and process parameter optimization, and finally current challenges and future prospects are provided.