Thermodynamic Study of Water-Steam Plasma Pyrolysis of Medical Waste for Recovery of CO and H2

This paper describes the equilibrium compositions of the typical medical waste under high temperature pyrolysis by a steam plasma torch using the NASA CEA2 program. Various components from selected typical medical waste were input to the program along with the treatment temperature from 1000 K -4100 K. The program then performed the Gibbs free energy calculations and searched for the equilibrium composition with minimizing the total system Gibbs free energy. The calculation results indicate that, the equilibrium composition of a system C-H-O at C/O = 1 in the temperature range of 1400 K - 2000 K has demonstrated that gas composition are CO and H2 mainly, the other components （CO2, C2H4, C2H2, CH4 etc.） is less than 1% by volume and the degree of raw material transformation is about 100%. Comparison with air plasma, the steam plasma treatment will not produce nitrogen oxides, if the materials are free of nitrogen element.     

Decomposition of Nitrogen Trifluoride Using Low Power Arc Plasma

The low power arc plasma is characterized by extremely high enthalpy and temperature and it is easy to generate and control,and thus thermal decomposition process based on the plasma torch is receiving a great attention for decomposing non-degradable greenhouse gases.In order to elevate the economic feasibility,the efects of input power,waste gas flow rate and additive gases on the destruction and removal efciency(DRE) of NF3 are examined.Specific energy density(SED) deceases as the flow rate increases,and accordingly,the DRE is reduced.The DRE is basically determined by the specific energy density.The highest DRE of NF3 was 97% for the waste gas flow rate of 100 L/min at a low input power level of 2 kW with the help of hydrogen additional gas.The inlet and outlet concentration of NF3 was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR) for DRE of NF3 evaluation.As a result,large amount of NF3 can be efciently decomposed by low power arc plasma systems.     

Preliminary Study of Thermal Treatment of Coke Wastewater Sludge Using Plasma Torch

Thermal plasma was applied for the treatment of coke wastewater sludge derived from the steel industry in order to investigate the feasibility of the safe treatment and energy recovery of the sludge. A 30 k W plasma torch system was applied to study the vitrification and gas production of coke wastewater sludge. Toxicity leaching results indicated that the sludge treated via the thermal plasma process converted into a vitrified slag which resisted the leaching of heavy metals. CO2 was utilized as working gas to study the production and heat energy of the syngas. The heating value of the gas products by thermal plasma achieved 8.43 k J/L, indicating the further utilization of the gas products. Considering the utilization of the syngas and recovery heat from the gas products, the estimated treatment cost of coke wastewater sludge via plasma torch was about 0.98 CNY/kg sludge in the experiment. By preliminary economic analysis, the dehydration cost takes an important part of the total sludge treatment cost. The treatment cost of the coke wastewater sludge with 50 wt.% moisture was calculated to be about 1.45 CNY/kg sludge dry basis. The treatment cost of the coke wastewater sludge could be effectively controlled by decreasing the water content of the sludge. These findings suggest that an economic dewatering pretreatment method could be combined to cut the total treatment cost in an actual treatment process.     

Design and characteristics of a triple-cathode cascade plasma torch for spheroidization of metallic powders

Arc plasma torch is an effective tool for spheroidization of metallic powders. However, as most conventional plasma torches were not specifically designed for plasma spheroidization, they may exhibit the disadvantages of the radial injection of powders, large fluctuations in the arc voltage, large gas flow rate, and disequilibrium between multiple plasma jets during the spheroidization process. Therefore, this paper presents a triple-cathode cascade plasma torch (TCCPT) for plasma spheroidization. Its structural design, including three cathodes, a common anode, and three sets of inter-electrodes, are detailed to ensure that powders can be inserted into the plasma jet by axial injection, the arc voltage fluctuations are easily maintained at a low level, and the plasma torches can work at a relatively small gas flow rate. Experimental results showed that the proposed TCCPT exhibits the following characteristics: (1) a relatively small arc voltage fluctuation within 5.3%; (2) a relatively high arc voltage of 75 V and low gas flow rate range of 10–30 SLM; (3) easy to be maintained at the equilibrium state with the equilibrium index of the three plasma jets within 3.5 V. Furthermore, plasma spheroidization experiments of SUS304 stainless steel powers were carried out using the proposed TCCPT. Results verified that the proposed TCCPT is applicable and effective for the spheroidization of metallic powders with wide size distribution.     

CO_2 conversion by thermal plasma with carbon as reducing agent: high CO yield and energy efficiency

A key problem in CO_2 conversion by thermal plasma is suppressing the inverse reactions,CO?+?O?→?CO_2 and CO?+?0.5O_2?→?CO_2, to simultaneously obtain high CO yield and energy efficiency. This can be done by quickly quenching the decomposed gas or rapidly taking away free oxygen from decomposed gas. In this paper, experiments of CO_2 conversion by thermal plasma with carbon as a reducing agent are presented. Carbon quickly devoured free oxygen in thermal plasma decomposed gas, and not only is the inverse reaction completely suppressed, but the discharge energy to form oxygen atoms, oxygen molecular, and thermal energy is also reused.A CO_2 conversion rate of 67%–94% and the corresponding electric energy efficiency of about 70% are achieved, both are much higher than that seen so far by other plasma implementations.     

Treatment of Bone Waste Using Thermal Plasma Technology

Daily meat consumption produces a lot of bone waste, and dumped bone waste without treatment would result in environmental hazards. Conventional treatment methods of waste bones have some disadvantages. Herein, an investigation of bone waste treated using thermal plasma technology is presented. A high-temperature plasma torch operated at 25.2 kW was used to treat bone waste for seven minutes. The bone waste was finally changed into vitric matter and lost 2/3 of its weight after the treatment. The process was highly efficient, economical, convenient, and fuel-free. This method could be used as an alternative for disposal of bone waste, small infectious animals, hazardous hospital waste, etc.     

Oyster Shell Recycling and Plasma Bone Waste Treatment Using Pyrolysis

Investigations on the recycling plasma pyrolysis technique are presented in 25 kW was employed for the experiments. of oyster shells and bone waste treatment using the this paper. A arc based plasma torch operated at Fresh oyster shells were recycled using the plasma torch to convert them to a useful product such as CaO. Bone waste was treated to remove the infectious organic part and to vitrify the inorganic part. The time required for treatment in both cases was significantly short. Significant reduction in the weight of the samples was observed in both cases.     

Comparative analysis of the arc characteristics inside the converging-diverging and cylindrical plasma torches

A two-temperature thermal non-equilibrium model is used to simulate and compare the arc characteristics within the converging-diverging and traditional cylindrical plasma torches.The modeling results show that the presence of the constrictor within the converging-diverging torch makes the evolution characteristics of the arc significantly different from that of cylindrical torch.Compared with a cylindrical geometrical torch,a much higher plasma flow velocity and relatively longer high temperature region can be generated and maintained inside the converging-diverging torch.In the constrictor of converging-diverging torch,the normalized radius of arc column increases and the degree of thermodynamic equilibrium of the plasma is significantly improved with the increase of axial distance.The radial momentum balance analysis shows that for the cylindrical torch,the pressure gradient that drives the arc expansion and the Lorentz force that drives the arc contraction dominate the radial evolution of the arc.While at the converging and constrictor region of a converging-diverging plasma torch,the radial gas dynamic forces in arc fringes pointing toward the arc center enhance the mixing of the cold gas of boundary layer with the high temperature gas of the arc center,increasing the average gas temperature and decreasing the thickness of cold boundary layer,thereby facilitating the formation of diffusion type arc anode attachment at the diverging section of torch.     

Comparative Observation of Ar, Ar-H2 and Ar-N2 DC Arc Plasma Jets and Their Arc Root Behaviour at Reduced Pressure

Results observed experimentally are presented, about the DC arc plasma jets and their arc-root behaviour generated at reduced gas pressure without or with an applied magnetic field. Pure argon, argon-hydrogen or argon-nitrogen mixture was used as the plasma-forming gas. A specially designed copper mirror was used for a better observation of the arc-root behaviour on the anode surface of the DC non-transferred arc plasma torch. It was found that in the cases without an applied magnetic field, the laminar plasma jets were stable and approximately axisymmetrical. The arc-root attachment on the anode surface was completely diffusive when argon was used as the plasma-forming gas, while the arc-root attachment often became constrictive when hydrogen or nitrogen was added into the argon. As an external magnetic field was applied, the arc root tended to rotate along the anode surface of the non-transferred arc plasma torch.     

Fast inactivation of microbes and degradation of organic compounds dissolved in water by thermal plasma

The multifunctionality and the advantages of thermal plasma for the fast inactivation of viable cells and degradation of organic compounds dissolved in waste water are presented.A complete bacterial inactivation process was observed and studied using a thermal plasma treatment source with very short application times,in particular for Staphylococcus aureus bundle spore survival.The survival curves and analyses of the experimental data of the initial and final densities of S.aureus bacteria show a dramatic inhibitory effect of the plasma discharge on the residual bacteria survival ratio.As the exposure time increased,the inactivation process rate increased for direct exposure more than it did for indirect exposure.The evaluation of direct and indirect exposure was based on the analysis of the ultraviolet spectrum from the absorbance spectra of the organic compound dye called benzene sulfonate(C_(16)H_(11)N_2Na O_4S)and of viable cells called S.aureus.Organic compounds were degraded and viable cells were killed in a short time by thermal plasma.Moreover,analyses of total carbon,total organic carbon,and total inorganic carbon showed a fast decrease in organically bound carbon,however,this was not as fast as the absorbance spectra revealed by the exposure time increasing more for direct exposure than indirect exposure.After 100 s of exposure to the organic compound dye the removal had a maximun of 40%for samples with indirect exposure to the plasma and a maximum of 90%for samples with the direct exposure.For both samples,where some organic contaminants still remained in treated water,four electrolytes(KCl,Na Cl,Na_2SO_4,and CH_3COONa)were added to be effective for complete sterilization,reaching a purity of 100%.A proposal is made for an optimized thermal plasma water purification system(TPWPS)to improve fast inactivation of microbes and the degradation of organic compounds dissolved in water(especially for direct exposure rather than indirect exposure)using a hybrid plasma torch with an electrical power of 125 kW(500 V–250 A)producing a high-temperature(10 000 K–19 000 K)plasma jet with a maximum gas consumption of 28 mg s~(-1).     

Experimental study on the parameter optimization and application of a packed-bed dielectric barrier discharge reactor in diesel particulate filter regeneration

To compensate for the shortcomings of the thermal and catalytic regeneration of the diesel particulate filter(DPF),a self-designed packed-bed dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)reactor for DPF regeneration was developed.The DBD reactor with the main active substance of nonthermal plasma(NTP)as the target parameter was optimized by adjusting the feed gas,packing particles(material or size),and cooling water temperature.Moreover,a set of optimal working parameters(gas source,O2;packing particles,1.2-1.4 mm ZrO2;and cooling water temperature,20℃)was selected to evaluate the effect of different O3 concentrations on DPF regeneration.The research results showed that selecting packing particles with high dielectric constant and large particles,as well as reducing the cooling water temperature,with oxygen as the feed gas,contributed to an increase in O3 concentration.During DPF regeneration,the following changes were observed:the power of the NTP reactor decreased to lower than 100 W,the O3 concentration increased from 15 g m-3 to 45 g m-3,the CO and CO2 volume fractions of the particulate matter decomposition products increased,and the peak regeneration temperature increased to 173.4℃.The peak temperature arrival time was 60 min earlier,indicating that the regeneration rate of DPF increased with the increase in O3 concentration.However,the O3 utilization rate(the amount of carbon deposit removed per unit volume O3)initially increased and then decreased;when the O3 concentration was set to 25 g m-3,the highest O3 utilization rate was reached.The packed-bed DBD technology contributed to the increase in the concentration of NTP active substances and the regeneration efficiency of DPF.It provides a theoretical and experimental basis for high-efficiency regeneration of DPF at low temperatures(＜200℃).     

Influenceof the Laminar Plasma Torch Construction on the Jet Characteristics

Based on two typical laminar plasma torches(LPT), i.e. a multi-electrode plasma torch(MEPT) with segmented anode structure and a two-electrode plasma torch(TEPT) with conventional structure, this paper studied the influence of the LPTs construction on the jet characteristics. Experiments were designed to measure their arc voltage, jet length, thermal efficiency and specific enthalpy using a home-made data acquisition system. With them, the jet characteristics of the two different LPTs were compared in detail. Results show that different plasma torch construction leads to distinctively different characteristics of the generated plasma jet. Based on the different jet characteristics, a plasma torch with appropriate construction could be used to meet the different application requirements.     

CO2 Reforming of CH4 by Atmospheric Pressure Abnormal Glow Plasma

A novel plasma atmospheric pressure abnormal glow discharge was used to investigate synthesis gas production from reforming methane and carbon dioxide. Special attentions were paid to the discharge characteristics and CH4, CO2 conversion, H2, CO selectivity, and ratio of H2/CO varied with the changing of discharging power, the total flux, and the ratio of CH4/CO2. Experiments were performed in wider operation variables, the discharging power of 240 to 600 W, the CH4/CO2 of 0.2 to 1.0 and the total flux of 140 to 500mL/min. The experiments showed that the conversion of CH4 and CO2 was up to 91.9% and 83.2%, the selectivity of CO and H2 was also up to 80% and 90% and H2/CO mole ratio was 0.2 to 1.2, respectively. A brief analysis for discharge characteristics and the experimental results were given.     

Experimental study on bacteria disinfection using a pulsed cold plasma jet with helium/ oxygen mixed gas

Cold atmospheric plasma jet is widely used in many fields due to the reactive oxygen species and low temperature for heat-sensitive products. This paper presents the inactivation of bacteria via a pulsed plasma jet with He/O₂ mixed gas. To evaluate the disinfection performance, Staphylococcus aureus was used as an indicator bacteria for experiments. When the plasma jet dealt with agar plates spraying bacteria, it was found that mixed gas has a better performance than pure inert gas, indicated by the disinfection area. The increment of oxygen gas addition was beneficial to the disinfection ability of the plasma jet, while the gas had an opposite effect on the length of jet production. The experiments showed the efficacy of Staphylococcus aureus disinfection could reach up to 99.47% via a helium/oxygen (2%) plasma jet.     

Surface Sulfonation of Polyvinyl Chloride by Plasma for Antithrombogenicity

To enhance the blood compatibility of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) film, the film was modified by SO2/O2 gas plasma treatment. The effect of surface sulfonation of PVC treated by various SO2/O2 gas plasma depended on the volume ratio O2/(SO2 O2). When the volume ratio was 0.5, the effect of sulfonation was the best. Sulfonic acid groups were specifically and efficiently introduced onto the PVC surface, which was proved by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transfer Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The surface microstructure of modified PVC film was studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antithrombogenicity of the samples was determined by the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), thrombin time (TT) and plasma recalcification time (PRT) tests and platelet adhesion experiment. The results indicated that the antithrombogenicity of modified PVC was improved remarkably.     

特种废物等离子体处理技术的应用与研究

简单介绍了等离子体的基本概念及其热等离子体废物处理技术的基本原理,从几个方面总结介绍了固体废物等离子体处理技术的应用与研究。与常规处理方法相比较,采用热等离子体特种废物处理技术其先进性和优越性得到进一步显现,成为特种废物处理领域最有发展前途,最引人关注的高科技处理技术之一。文章还简单介绍了作者在实验室热等离子体技术工作中的一些实验结果以及核工业西南物理研究院在引进、吸收、消化、发展国外等离子体炬和在研制等离子体炬新型电源方面所做的一些工作。     

Numerical investigation on the flow characteristics of a reverse-polarity plasma torch by two-temperature thermal non-equilibrium modelling

A two-temperature(2 T) thermal non-equilibrium model is developed to address the thermal nonequilibrium phenomenon that inevitably exists in the reverse-polarity plasma torch(RPT) and applied to numerically investigate the plasma flow characteristics inside and outside the RPT.Then, a detailed comparison of the results of the 2 T model with those of the local thermal equilibrium(LTE) model is presented. Furthermore, the temperature of the plasma jet generated by a RPT and the RPT's voltage are experimentally measured to compare and validate the result obtained by different models. The differences of the measured excitation temperature and the arc voltage between the 2 T model and experimental measurement are less than 13% and 8%,respectively, in all operating cases, validating the effectiveness of the 2 T model. The LTE model overestimates the velocity and temperature distribution of the RPT and its plasma jet, showing that thermal non-equilibrium phenomena cannot be neglected in the numerical modelling of the RPT. Unlike other common hot cathode plasma torches, the thermal non-equilibrium phenomenon is found even in the arc core of the RPT, due to the strong cooling effect caused by the big gas flow rate.     

Environmental and economic vision of plasma treatment of waste in Makkah

An environmental and economic assessment of the development of a plasma-chemical reactor equipped with plasma torches for the environmentally friendly treatment of waste streams by plasma is outlined with a view to the chemical and energetic valorization of the sustainability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia(KSA). This is especially applicable in the pilgrimage season in the city of Makkah, which is a major challenge since the amount of waste was estimated at about 750 thousand tons through Arabic Year 1435 H(2015), and is growing at a rate of 3%–5% annually. According to statistics, the value of waste in Saudi Arabia ranges between 8 and 9 billion EUR. The Plasma-Treatment Project(PTP) encompasses the direct plasma treatment of all types of waste(from source and landfill), as well as an environmental vision and economic evaluation of the use of the gas produced for fuel and electricity production in KSA, especially in the pilgrimage season in the holy city Makkah. The electrical power required for the plasmatreatment process is estimated at 5000 kW(2000 kW used for the operation of the system and 3000 kW sold), taking into account the fact that:(1) the processing capacity of solid waste is 100 tons per day(2) and the sale of electricity amounts to 23.8 MW at 0.18 EUR per kWh.(3) The profit from the sale of electricity per year is estimated at 3.27 million EUR and the estimated profit of solid-waste treatment amounts to 6 million EUR per year and(4) the gross profit per ton of solid waste totals 8 million EUR per year. The present article introduces the first stage of the PTP, in Makkah in the pilgrimage season, which consists of five stages:(1) study and treatment of waste streams,(2) slaughterhouse waste treatment,(3) treatment of refuse-derived fuel,(4)treatment of car tires and(5) treatment of slag(the fifth stage associated with each stage from the four previous stages).     

Study of Humidity Effect on Benzene Decomposition by the Dielectric Barrier Discharge Nonthermal Plasma Reactor

The humidity effects on the benzene decomposition process were investigated by the dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) plasma reactor.The results showed that the water vapor played an important role in the benzene oxidation process.It was found that there was an optimum humidity value for the benzene removal efficiency,and at around 60% relative humidity(RH),the optimum benzene removal efficiency was achieved.At a SIE of 378 J/L,the removal efficiency was 66% at 0% RH,while the removal efficiency reached 75.3% at 60% RH and dropped to 69% at 80% RH.Furthermore,the addition of water inhibited the formation of ozone and NO_2 remarkably.Both of the concentrations of ozone and NO_2 decreased with increasing of the RH at the same specific input energy.At a SIE of 256 J/L,the concentrations of ozone and NO_2 were 5.4 mg/L and 1791 ppm under dry conditions,whereas they were only 3.4 mg/L and 1119 ppm at 63.5%RH,respectively.Finally,the outlet gas after benzene degradation was qualitatively analyzed by FT-IR and GC-MS to determine possible intermediate byproducts.The results suggested that the byproducts in decomposition of benzene primarily consisted of phenol and substitutions of phenol.Based on these byproducts a benzene degradation mechanism was proposed.     

Study of double-chamber air arc plasma torch and the application in solid-waste disposal

Arc plasma can be applied in hazardous solid waste disposal for higher temperature than common heating methods, but some practical issues exist in practical engineering application. In this study, an air arc plasma torch with double chambers and magnetic controlling is designed to realize wide variable power and long electrode life. The detailed characteristics and laws of the air arc are studied. The condition parameters of arc current(I), air flow rate(G) and the structure parameters of inlet area ratios and electrode diameters influence both the arc voltage and arc root positions. The arc rotating driven by magnetic field effectively lengthens the electrode life. The gasification process and product of organic wastes by air plasma are influenced largely by the waste compositions and the air flow rate. A furnace structure with more even atmosphere and longer residence time should be considered for better gasification. Oxygen-deficient environment is important to suppress NOxformation during the application of air plasma. Inorganic solid wastes can be melt by the air plasma and cooled down to form compact vitreous structures in which heavy metals can be locked and the leaching rates significantly decrease down.