Plasma mediated water splitting for hydrogen production

This review explores the potential of enhancing hydrogen production energy efficiency through plasma-mediated water-splitting methods. A variety of plasma types have been explored in the literature for this purpose, including dielectric barrier discharge, microwave, radiofrequency, and gliding arc,...

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Main Authors: M J Cook, T Nott, W J Trompetter, J Futter, C W Bumby, J V Kennedy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:JPhys Energy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7655/adafdb
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author M J Cook
T Nott
W J Trompetter
J Futter
C W Bumby
J V Kennedy
author_facet M J Cook
T Nott
W J Trompetter
J Futter
C W Bumby
J V Kennedy
author_sort M J Cook
collection DOAJ
description This review explores the potential of enhancing hydrogen production energy efficiency through plasma-mediated water-splitting methods. A variety of plasma types have been explored in the literature for this purpose, including dielectric barrier discharge, microwave, radiofrequency, and gliding arc, with a large range of efficiencies in water splitting. The highest reported efficiencies of up to 80% have been achieved in systems using steam with argon as a carrier gas. The integration of steam in plasma reactors in place of room temperature liquid water contributes a remarkable 20%–50% increase to the overall energy efficiency while the additional energy required in converting water to steam only incurs a 16.4% energy cost to the overall process. Moreover, the addition of argon as a carrier gas in the plasma further enhances overall energy efficiency by an additional 25%–40%, bringing the energy efficiency of these systems up to 80% (based on plasma power). In addition, the use of steam proves advantageous as it prevents significant hydrogen peroxide production (a competing side reaction), and the unreacted steam can be readily condensed or frozen out to separate from the hydrogen and oxygen produced. These enhancements indicate that plasma-mediated water splitting has the potential to achieve similar efficiencies to conventional water electrolysis, with different benefits, paving the way for new applications of hydrogen technology. The disadvantage of plasma systems compared to polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis is that the hydrogen and oxygen are produced together, however these gases can be readily separated using several technologies. While large-scale plasma systems for water splitting may not currently exist, the potential gains in energy efficiency open avenues for future research and implementation on a larger scale.
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spelling doaj-art-2e5b24d5ac964eb4805d20bd981139f52025-02-07T10:49:20ZengIOP PublishingJPhys Energy2515-76552025-01-017202200210.1088/2515-7655/adafdbPlasma mediated water splitting for hydrogen productionM J Cook0T Nott1https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9786-236XW J Trompetter2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2530-5946J Futter3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2263-6750C W Bumby4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8555-2469J V Kennedy5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9126-4997National Isotope Centre, GNS Science , PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5010, New ZealandRobinson Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington , PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New ZealandNational Isotope Centre, GNS Science , PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5010, New ZealandNational Isotope Centre, GNS Science , PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5010, New ZealandRobinson Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington , PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand; The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington , PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New ZealandNational Isotope Centre, GNS Science , PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand; The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington , PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New ZealandThis review explores the potential of enhancing hydrogen production energy efficiency through plasma-mediated water-splitting methods. A variety of plasma types have been explored in the literature for this purpose, including dielectric barrier discharge, microwave, radiofrequency, and gliding arc, with a large range of efficiencies in water splitting. The highest reported efficiencies of up to 80% have been achieved in systems using steam with argon as a carrier gas. The integration of steam in plasma reactors in place of room temperature liquid water contributes a remarkable 20%–50% increase to the overall energy efficiency while the additional energy required in converting water to steam only incurs a 16.4% energy cost to the overall process. Moreover, the addition of argon as a carrier gas in the plasma further enhances overall energy efficiency by an additional 25%–40%, bringing the energy efficiency of these systems up to 80% (based on plasma power). In addition, the use of steam proves advantageous as it prevents significant hydrogen peroxide production (a competing side reaction), and the unreacted steam can be readily condensed or frozen out to separate from the hydrogen and oxygen produced. These enhancements indicate that plasma-mediated water splitting has the potential to achieve similar efficiencies to conventional water electrolysis, with different benefits, paving the way for new applications of hydrogen technology. The disadvantage of plasma systems compared to polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis is that the hydrogen and oxygen are produced together, however these gases can be readily separated using several technologies. While large-scale plasma systems for water splitting may not currently exist, the potential gains in energy efficiency open avenues for future research and implementation on a larger scale.https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7655/adafdbplasmashydrogenplasma-mediated water splitting
spellingShingle M J Cook
T Nott
W J Trompetter
J Futter
C W Bumby
J V Kennedy
Plasma mediated water splitting for hydrogen production
JPhys Energy
plasmas
hydrogen
plasma-mediated water splitting
title Plasma mediated water splitting for hydrogen production
title_full Plasma mediated water splitting for hydrogen production
title_fullStr Plasma mediated water splitting for hydrogen production
title_full_unstemmed Plasma mediated water splitting for hydrogen production
title_short Plasma mediated water splitting for hydrogen production
title_sort plasma mediated water splitting for hydrogen production
topic plasmas
hydrogen
plasma-mediated water splitting
url https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7655/adafdb
work_keys_str_mv AT mjcook plasmamediatedwatersplittingforhydrogenproduction
AT tnott plasmamediatedwatersplittingforhydrogenproduction
AT wjtrompetter plasmamediatedwatersplittingforhydrogenproduction
AT jfutter plasmamediatedwatersplittingforhydrogenproduction
AT cwbumby plasmamediatedwatersplittingforhydrogenproduction
AT jvkennedy plasmamediatedwatersplittingforhydrogenproduction