Recent advances in unconventional heating and external field-assisted enhancement for dry reforming of methane

The dry reforming of methane (DRM) reaction is a process that converting CH4 and CO2 into syngas (H2 and CO), serving as a promising pathway for industrial raw materials production and greenhouse effect mitigation. However, challenges arise in high-temperature thermal catalysis, such as carbon deposition, catalyst inactivation, and high energy consumption. Introducing exogenous energy and fields offers potential for a low-energy consumed and efficient DRM reaction process. Unlike conventional thermocatalytic mechanisms, the temperature and activation energy required to drive DRM can be reduced, and the thermodynamic constraints can be broken down. This review provides a comprehensive overview of highly efficient heating techniques, including induction heating and microwave heating, as well as external fields such as photo-, dielectric barrier discharge-, and electric field- assisted DRM. The aim is to give a comprehensive understanding of lowering energy consumption and improving activity. Mechanism and characteristics of each technique on catalytic reforming reaction are introduced, while potential challenges and research directions proposed for these approaches are proposed.