Principal Investigator Ana María Gómez Ramírez / Manuel Oliva Ramírez Funding Organization: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación «Transición Ecológico y Transición Digital» Code: TED2021-130124A-100
Research Team: Rafael Álvarez Molina, José Cotrino Bautista, María del Carmen García Martínez (US), Alberto Palmero Acebedo, Agustín R. González-Elipe
CO₂ emissions currently account for approximately 77% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to a gradual increase in global warming with the consequent and severe environmental impacts. Therefore, there is an undeniable need to foster a transition toward an economy in which the intensive use of fossil fuels is no longer the primary driver, promoting the development of environmentally friendly chemical transformation and utilization processes through the use of alternative energy sources.
The project “Development of Intermittent Plasmas Operated with Renewable Electricity for CO₂ Removal and Valorization”, hereinafter referred to as RENOVACO2, aims to develop atmospheric plasma technologies that use electricity as a direct energy vector to carry out chemical processes that are conventionally addressed via catalytic techniques. These conventional methods typically involve high pressures and temperatures and rely on thermal catalysts containing contaminants that are difficult to recycle.
Generation of Plasma Interactions with Acoustic Waves in Piezoelectric Materials for Fundamental Studies and the Development of Microreactors for Gas-Phase Reactive Processes
Principal Investigator Manuel Oliva Ramírez Funding Organization: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. Proyectos Investigación No Orientada Código: PID2023-147916-100
Research Team: Ana María Gómez Ramírez, M. Carmen García Martínez (UCO), Miguel Camacho Aguilar (US)
PLASMATUNES explores the generation of microplasmas on piezoelectric platforms activated by acoustic waves (AWs) and the interaction of these AWs—which produce a variable electric potential—with plasmas generated by external sources. Acoustic waves have applications across multiple fields, from materials science to life sciences. However, their use for microplasma generation in piezoelectric materials is entirely new and unexplored, according to the research team’s knowledge of the current state of the art.
Recently, the research group conducted a series of experiments on the interaction of AWs in piezoelectrics with external plasma sources. These experiments highlighted both the potential of these processes and the need for more systematic studies to unravel the underlying physical principles and develop possible applications. Based on this premise, PLASMATUNES will open a new field that will allow a deeper understanding of microplasmas and their interactions with AWs. The results are expected to have a significant impact on both the plasma science community and the acoustic wave research community.
Specifically, the project will develop new concepts to describe the generation of these microplasmas, their temporal dependence, and the possibility of tuning them via the excitation frequency of the AWs. The advances achieved will lay the groundwork for incorporating these microplasmas into microreactors to carry out gas-phase processes, overcoming bottlenecks that currently limit the use of plasmas in various applied processes. Controlling the performance of such microreactors through chemical analysis of reaction products via mass spectrometry and FTIR, as well as intermediate species via emission spectroscopy, will allow their optimization and improved yields compared to conventional plasma-catalysis developments.
In the later stages of PLASMATUNES, reactions of both clear scientific interest and high environmental and industrial relevance will be addressed. These include the production of green H₂ through dry methane reforming and the synthesis/decomposition of NH₃. In this context, PLASMATUNES starts from a technological readiness level (TRL) of essentially zero (TRL 0), as it begins by developing the underlying physics, with the expectation of reaching TRL 1 or TRL 2 upon optimizing the final microreactor. Evidence of the project’s potential societal impact is provided by a letter of support from a highly competitive national company, Técnicas Reunidas, highlighting the global importance of such research for developing emerging technologies that address current societal challenges.
Furthermore, the project will establish an innovative research line that has not been explored in other laboratories worldwide, positioning Spain as a significant international player in a disruptive area of plasma technology. Additionally, the execution of PLASMATUNES, involving multiple national and international researchers, will enable applications for European projects—both fundamental and applied—allowing for more ambitious future tasks and increasing the TRL of this technology.
