SYAMESE - IPFN

Mission

Project SYAMESE is an 18-month exploratory project funded by FCT under execution in 2025 and 2026. It proposes to use an all-electric route for conversion of greenhouse gas CO₂ into fuel base-molecule CO and breathable O₂.

A highly novel approach to electro-synthesis is studied by merging two developing technologies: oxygen-conducting membranes used in solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) and plasma conversion. In this way the reactivity of the plasma is synergistically combined with the selectivity and separation properties of electrolysis.

The SYAMESE project studies the fundamental processes within the merged plasma-SOEC electrochemical cell to identify the key mechanisms determining its synergies.

Goals

Install a new plasma-membrane reactor at the laboratory, with the plasma as cathode to the oxygen ion conducting membrane and the membrane as anode to the plasma;
Experimental proof of plasma-membrane reactor performance, with measurement of CO2 conversion and O2 separation yields in different parametric conditions;
Development of a self-consistently coupled plasma-membrane fluid model describing the experimental system and validation by comparison of its results against measurements;
Development of accurate microscopic surface models describing surface charging and oxygen attachment at the plasma-membrane interface;
Experimental and numerical characterization of CO2 discharge parameters, atomic oxygen adsorption to the membrane and surface charging of the membrane by the plasma in different parametric conditions, thus identifying the key mechanisms determining plasma-membrane synergies and allowing to optimize future reactors.