Chapter no.

1 Introduction to Plasma Gasification Technology:

Large number of carbonaceous material is produced from different industries, biomass, fossil fuel and municipal solid waste (MSW). Hazardous waste is generated by 19 main industrial sectors as follows: refineries, oil pumping, production of other oil products, waste oils recovery, fertilizers, metal industries such as steel, aluminum, ferrous-nickel, cement and manganese, metal surface treatment, production of batteries and accumulators, recycling of Pb accumulators, tanneries, dying industries, chemical industries, synthetic wood industries, synthetic fibers and pesticides production.

Plasma Gasification:
Plasma gasification is the gasification of matter in an oxygen-starved environment to decompose waste material into its basic molecular structure. Plasma gasification does not combust the waste as incinerators do. It converts the organic waste into a fuel gas that still contains all the chemical and heat energy from the waste. It converts the inorganic waste into an inert vitrified glass. And A new innovative technology to Plasma gasification/vitrification is a technologically advanced and environmentally friendly method of disposing of waste, converting it to commercially usable byproducts. This process is a drastic non-incineration thermal process, which uses extremely high temperatures in an oxygen-starved environment to completely decompose input waste material into very simple molecules. The intense and versatile heat generation capabilities of plasma technology enable a plasma gasification/vitrification facility to treat a large number of waste streams in a safe and reliable manner. The by-products of the process are a combustible gas and an inert slag. Plasma gasification consistently exhibits much lower environmental levels for both air emissions and slag leachate toxicity than other thermal technologies.[ K. Moustakas a et all,2005]

Composition of Synthesis Gas

Synthesis gas and vitrified glass are produced by Plasma arc Gasification technology. A typical composition of this gas is 2443% (v/v) H2, 2544% (v/v) CO, 1026% (v/v) CO2 and N2, depending mainly on the waste input composition.

Process:
Plasma is considered a 4th state. Electricity is fed to a torch, which has two electrodes, creating an arc. Inert gas is passed through the arc, heating the process gas to internal temperatures as high as 25,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The following diagram illustrates how the plasma torch operates.

The temperature a few feet from the torch can be as high as 5,000-8000 F. Because of these high temperatures the waste is completely destroyed and broken down into its basic elemental components. There are no tars or furans. At these high temperatures all metals become molten and flow out the bottom of the reactor. Inorganics such as silica, soil, concrete, glass, gravel, etc. are vitrified into glass and flow out the bottom of the reactor. There is no ash remaining to go back to a landfill.

The plasma reactor does not discriminate between types of waste. It can process any type of waste. The only variable is the amount of energy that it takes to destroy the waste. Consequently, no sorting of waste is necessary and any type of waste, other than nuclear waste, can be processed.

The reactors are large and operate at a slightly negative pressure, meaning that the feed system is simplified because the gas does not want to escape. The gas has to be pulled from the reactor by the suction of the compressor. Each reactor can process 20 tons per hour (tph) compared to 3 tph for typical gasifiers. Because of the size and the negative pressure, the feed system can handle bundles of material up to 1 meter in size. This means that whole drums or bags of waste can be fed directly into the reactor making the system ideal for large scale production.

The gas composition coming out of a plasma gasifier is lower in trace contaminants than with any kind of incinerator or other gasifier. Because the process starts with lower emissions out of the reactor it is able to achieve significantly lower stack emissions. The gasifier doesn't care about the amount of moisture in the waste. The moisture consumes energy to vaporize and can impact the capacity and economics, however, it will not affect the process.

http://recoveredenergy.com/d_plasma.html

Components of Plasma Gasification Unit:

http://www.electronicsforu.com/EFYLinux/efyhome/cover/February2009/Plasma-Arc-2.pdf As a whole it consists of 1. Waste feed system Hopper Screw conveyor 2. Plasma torch and control Graphite electrodes 3. Gasification furnace Startup natural gas burner(for preheating and idle operation) A port for air injection A water cooling mechanism for graphite electrode An external surface water-cooling for external furnace wall Tapping hole for slag removal Compressed air system(for air supply) 4. Hot cyclone (for removal of dust in synthesis gas)

Cost Analysis
Compared to incineration, landfill and pyrolysis technologies, Plasma Arc Gasification produces more revenue per year.

SHE
To reduce these hazard materials and solid waste, old technologies like incineration and landfills are used but they have harm effect on environment. Landfill produces the leachate which contaminates the groundwater and has adverse effect on surrounding area. While harmful flue gases are produced by incineration. As compared to other thermal processes by products of Plasma Arc Gasification are non-leaching and meet the EPA (Environment Pakistan Agency) CO2 released in this process is less dangerous to CH4 released from landfills. In gasifier , there is temperature around 20000C, so there should be complete insulation around it. Properly instrumentation is required for it.

Availability of Technology
Many manufacturer and different companies are supplying the equipment required for it.

By-Products
The inorganic minerals of the MSW produce a rocklike by product. Since operating condition are very high (7200-12600F), these minerals are converted into a vitrified glass typically comprising metals and silica glass. The vitrified slag is basically nonleaching and exceeds EPA standards.

Metal can be recovered from the slag and slag can be used to produce other by products such as rock wool, floor tile, roof tiles, insulation, constructing material and landscaping block. HCl and sulpher are also produced as by products while cleaning of synthesis gas.

Review:
Plasma refers to any gas of which at least a percentage of its atoms or molecules is partially or
totally ionized (Moustakas et al., 2005). The energy required can be thermal, electrical or electromagnetic. Plasma forms when a sustained electrical arc is generated by the passage of electric current (continuous, alternate or high frequency) through a gas. Electrical resistivity across the system creates massive localised heat. This strips electrons from the gas molecules resulting in an ionised gas stream, or plasma (Gomez et al., 2009). Plasma is an ionized gas that conducts electricity [8,9]. In order for the air to conduct electricity, it must be subjected to a large differential in electrical potential. This is done between two electrodes, which are separated by air. When this potential is large enough, electrons can be pulled from the normally neutral molecules in the air. These electrons then move with the electric field and impact other molecules, releasing more free electrons at an exponential rate. This phenomenon is called electron cascade,and when adequate electrons are moving with the electric field,an arc is created between the electrodes. All of this occurs within a fraction of a second.

Gasification is the thermochemical conversion of organic matter (i.e. carbonaceous) by partial

oxidation (i.e. substochiometric) into a gaseous product (i.e. synthesis gas or syngas) (Ciferno and Marano, 2002). This syngas may be used directly for combustion or synthesised into fuels or chemicals. The main syngas components are H2 and CO, with lower concentrations of CO2, H2O, CH4, higher hydrocarbons and N2. Reactions take place at elevated temperatures (5001400 _C) and a range of pressures (from atmospheric to 33 bar). The gasifying medium used may be air, pure oxygen, steam or a mixture of these.

Pyrolysis (i.e. devolatilisation) is the decomposition of the feedstock by heat in the absence of
oxygen. This is the first step in gasification wherein water vapour, organic liquids and noncondensable gases are separated from the solid carbon (i.e. char) content of the fuel. The process is slightly endothermic, producing 7590% volatile materials (for biomass) in the form of gaseous and liquid (i.e. condensable vapours including tar) hydrocarbons. The relative yield of gas, condensable vapours and residual char depends largely on the rate of heating and final temperature. Pyrolysis is initiated at around 230 _C when thermally unstable feed constituents (for example, lignin in biomass and volatiles in coal) break down and evaporate with other volatile constituents. The other pyrolysis processes begin slowly at _350_C. Above 700 _C these become almost instantaneous. The product gasses tend to be light (including H2, CO, CO2, H2O and CH4) with a low heating value (_3.59 MJ/m3). The vapour/ liquid product comprises mostly of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and tar (i.e. a dark, sticky viscous, corrosive liquid composed of heavy organic and inorganic molecules)