_applied_  
_sciences_  
_Article_  
Carbon Dioxide Decomposition by a Parallel-Plate Plasma  
Reactor: Experiments and 2-D Modelling  
[PERSON] 1,*(), [PERSON] 2, [PERSON] 3,*(), [PERSON] 4, [PERSON] 5 and [PERSON] 6  
1 Faculty of Physics, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman 7616913439, Iran  
2 Department of Physics, Vale-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan 7718897111, Iran; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
3 Department of Physics, University of Cordoba, E-14071 Cordoba, Spain  
4 Department of HVAC Engineering, Bialystok University of Technology, 15-351 Bialystok, Poland; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
5 Department of Plasma Engineering, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kermans 7616913439, Iran; [PERSON]RESS]  
6 Department of Pilotage, Mahanair UAST University of Kerman, Kermans 7616913439, Iran; [PERSON]ESS]  
*Correspondence: [PERSON](A.B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (A.R.) **Featured Application: This research is part of a project which aims to investigate the applicability of plasma technologies to air quality. This paper describes the development of a new plasma reactor for CO2 decomposition that works at atmospheric pressure with AC power. Results for pure CO2 are presented that elucidate the main mechanisms causing splitting of this molecule in the developed reactor. **  
**Citation:** [PERSON] [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON] [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON] [PERSON] Carbon Dioxide Decomposition by a Parallel-Plate Plasma Reactor: Experiments and 2-D Modelling. **Applied Sci. 2021**, 11, 10047. [[https://doi.org/10.3390/app112110047](https://doi.org/10.3390/app112110047)]([https://doi.org/10.3390/app112110047](https://doi.org/10.3390/app112110047))  
Academic Editor: [PERSON]  
Received: 2 October 2021  
Accepted: 23 October 2021  
Published: 27 October 2021  
**Publisher's Note:** MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. **Copyright:** 2021 by the authors. License MDP, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)]([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/))). **1. Introduction**  
The mitigation of greenhouse gases is one of the most important challenges in the world today. In consequence, finding solutions for carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction is a priority research topic. Technologies for the decomposition of these gases after their generation are being developed, together with solutions to reduce CO2 production at source. The applicability of high voltage electrical discharge plasmas to reform carbon dioxide (CO2) as an environmental pollutant has been extensively studied [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Plasma discharge reactors have shown improved efficiency and fewer side effects compared with other existing methods, such as steam methane reforming, steam methane/oxygen reforming, partial oxidation, catalytic partial oxidation, auto-thermal reforming, etc., [5]. Carbon dioxide is a stable and inert molecule that needs a large amount of energy for its splitting which means low energy conversion efficiency. Plasma (ionized gas) is an active medium containing different species including neutral species, ions, electrons, excited species, etc. The ionized species are accelerated by an applied electromagnetic field. Electrons with small mass can reach high energy and produce CO\({}_{2}\) conversion by different impact processes including ionization and vibrational or electronic excitation. New species appear that can favor this conversion. In this way, the energy efficiency is substantially improved [6].