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Plasm a torches. See m ore green living pictures. Photo courtesy PyroGenesis 2006
hotter than the surface of the sun (more than 6,000 degrees Celsius). At these temperatures, garbage doesn't stand a chance. Molecules break down in a process called molecular dissociation. When molecules are exposed to intense energy (like the heat generated by a plasma torch), the molecular bonds holding them together become excited and break apart. What's left are the elemental components of the molecules. With cyanide, for example, you'll end up with atoms of carbon and nitrogen. Organic molecules (those that are carbon-based) become volatilized, or turn into gases. This synthetic gas (syngas) can be used as a fuel source if properly cleaned. Inorganic compounds melt down and become vitrified, or converted into a hard, glassy substance similar in appearance and weight to obsidian. Metals melt down as well, combining with the rest of the inorganic matter (called slag). Unlike incinerators, which use combustion to break down garbage, there is no burning, or oxidation, in this process. The heat from plasma converters causes pyrolysis, a process in which organic matter breaks down and decomposes.
PyroGenesis Plasm a Arc w aste disposal system Photo courtesy of PyroGenesis 2006
Plasma torches can operate in airtight vessels. Combustion requires oxidization; pyrolysis does not.
Plasma waste converters can treat almost any kind of waste, including some traditionally difficult waste materials. It can treat medical waste or chemicallycontaminated waste and leave nothing but gases and slag. Because it breaks down these dangerous wastes into their basic elements, they can be disposed of safely. The only waste that a plasma converter can't break down is heavy radioactive material, such as the rods used in a nuclear reactor. If you put such material in a plasma furnace, it would probably catch on fire or even explode. In the upcoming sections, we will look at what makes up a typical plasma waste converter, examine the byproducts produced from the gasification process, and discuss the benefits and concerns about plasma converters.
THANK YOU
Thanks to Dr. Louis Circeo of Georgia Tech, Dr. Hilburn Hillestad and Crinu Baila of GeoPlasma and Bill Haynes of Energy Systems Group for their assistance with this article.
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This article focuses on the plasma gasification of municipal solid waste (MSW ), the industry term for what we normally refer to as garbage or trash.
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The solid byproduct from the gasification process is called slag. The weight and volume of the original waste material is dramatically reduced. According to Dr. Circeo of Georgia Tech's
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Plasma Department:
The weight of the slag is about 20 percent of the weight of the original waste The volume of the slag is about 5 percent that of the original waste''s volume The slag can take different forms depending on how you cool it. If slag is air-cooled, it forms black, glassy rocks that look and feel like obsidian, which can be used in concrete or asphalt. Molten slag can be funneled into brick or paving stone molds and then air cool into ready-to-use construction material. If you were to blow compressed air through a stream of this molten material, you'd end up with rock wool. Rock wool has the appearance of gray cotton candy. It''s light and wispy, and according to Dr. Circeo, it has the potential to revolutionize the plasma waste treatment industry. Rock wool is a very efficient insulation material, twice as effective as fiberglass. It's also lighter than water, but very absorbent. Because of this, it could potentially be used to help contain and clean oil spills in the
Metal nodules can be separated from the sand
ocean. Cleanup crews could spread rock wool over and around an oil spill. The rock wool would float on the water while soaking up the oil, making collection a relatively easy process. Hydroponic growing systems can also use rock wool -- farmers can plant seeds in slabs or blocks of it. Currently rock wool is produced by mining rocks, melting them down and then streaming the molten material onto spinning machines. The spinning machines fling strands of molten material in the air. Today, the price of rock wool is over a dollar a pound. Since rock wool would be a byproduct of the plasma gasification process, it could be sold for as little as 10 cents a pound. The price of insulation would decrease, efficiencies in energy-saving techniques would increase and plasma gasification plants would have another substantial source of income apart from selling electricity back to the grid.
Plasma technology experts, including Dr. Circeo, assert that the slag is virtually unleachable, meaning that any hazardous materials are inert and will not dissolve out of the slag. The heat created by plasma facilities is considerable, measured in thousands of degrees Centigrade. Heat from the molten slag helps maintain the temperature within the furnace. Some of the heat from gases can be used to convert water into steam, which in turn can turn steam turbines to generate electricity. Waste treatment through gasification is unique in that it not only gets rid of garbage and generates electricity, it also produces byproducts that are valuable commodities themselves. In the next section, we'll talk about existing and future plasma plants and pioneering companies in this technology.
The plasma gasification plant in Utashinai, Japan also began processing MSW in 2002. The original design of the plant factored in a capacity of around 170 tons per day of MSW and automobile shredder residue (ASR). Today the plant processes approximately 300 tons per day. The plant generates up to 7.9 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, selling about 4.3
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Eco Valley Utashinai Plasm a Facility Photo courtesy Westinghouse Plasma Corporation
In the United States, Atlanta-based firm GeoPlasma is working with St. Lucie County in Florida to build and operate a plasma gasification plant. This plant would process all of the incoming waste for the county and begin to mine the existing landfill for waste. Once it is built, the facility will be able to process up to 1,000 tons of garbage per day and generate 67 MWh a day, with a net output of 33 MWh. GeoPlasma has created a modular design for the plant, with two large plasma gasification chambers that will handle 500 tons per day. The modular design allows further expansion in
the future the proposed plan is to increase capacity to 3,000 tons of waste per day within a few years of operation. Engineers project that within 18 years, the existing landfill will be completely mined and treated. The electricity generated by the plant will be more than enough to power the 98,000 homes in the county. Many areas across the nation are beginning to look into plasma gasification as a way to approach waste management. Several companies such as GeoPlasma, StarTech, Recovered Energy, Inc. and Plasco Energy Group are pioneers in bringing this technology into commercial use. Assuming the St. Lucie County project is a success, we may see more of these facilities commissioned across the nation soon. Plasma arc technology has been used in various fields for decades. Experiments using plasma for waste management began in the 1980s. With all the benefits of plasma converters, why are we just now seeing these facilities being built? In the next section, we'll look at why it has taken decades for this technology to go from experimentation to implementation.
MEGAWATT-HOURS
The megawatt-hour (MWh) is a unit of measurement for energy. It's equal to 1,000,000 watts operating for 1 hour. A typical clothes dryer requires about 5.6 kilowatt-hours (or 5,600 watt-hours). One megawatt-hour could power that dryer for more than 178 hours without stopping.
plasma plants became economically feasible. Even in an ecologically-concerned culture, some companies don't focus on the environmental aspect for their business model. GeoPlasma, for example, positions itself as a power facility that uses a renewable resource for fuel. Dr. Hillestad of GeoPlasma asserts that by focusing on GeoPlasma's ability to produce electricity for low costs makes it a viable operation. Waste management is big business. Any major revolution in waste management faces critics and opposition from those that benefit from the status quo. As environmental pressures increase (both from the perspective of waste management and that of renewable sources for fuel), city and county governments are more willing to explore alternate strategies to handle waste. Making Plasma Plants Profitable Plasma waste treatment facilities are becoming more cost effective, however. Because a plasma plant can generate revenue beyond tipping fees, they can competitively price
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facilities are standardized, tipping fees will continue to decrease. With the right capacity, a plasma plant can generate enough syngas to run an engine or gas turbine and generate electricity. A 1,000 ton per day plant can generate enough electricity to power the plant itself and still have plenty of power to sell back to the grid. The hot gases can be used to generate steam, which can turn steam turbines for electricity or be used to generate heat for the plant and other facilities. Slag can be sold in any of its forms. The rock form can be used as gravel or molded into bricks. Sand can be mixed with concrete and used in various paving and construction projects. Rock wool can be used for insulation or to contain dangerous oil spills. The St. Lucie County plant will produce 12 tons per day of vitrified slag (from 1,000 tons of waste). If the molten slag is cooled by water, metal nodules can be separated from the slag and sold for scrap. The St. Lucie facility is expected to produce about 4 tons per day. We'll look at what the future may hold for plasma gasification technology next.
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Plasco Energy Group StarTech EuroPlasma Hitachi Metals Sources
Behar, Michael. "The Prophet of Garbage". Popular Science.http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2007-03/prophet-garbage Circeo, Louis, Ph.d. Personal interview. March 27, 2007. Circeo, Louis, Ph.d. "The Pyrolysis of Municipal Solid Waste as a Source of Renewable Energy Using Plasma Arc Technology". Presentation to the Renewable Energy Roundtable, Saint Petersburg Meeting of Nobel Prize Winners, Russian Academy of Sciences. June 16-21, 2003. Circeo, Louis. "Plasma Processing of MSW at Fossil Fuel Power Plants". Georgia Tech Research Institute. Environmental Energy Resources, Ltd. http://www.eer-pgm.com "Geoplasma LLC Responses to Questionnaire for Conversion Technology Suppliers." Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee. Conversion Technology Evaluation Services Project. Hillestad, Hilburn, Ph.d., Baila, Crinu and Haynes, Bill. Personal interview. March 27, 2007. Jackson, Sheryl S. "A Remedy for Landfills." Georgia Tech, Spring 1994.http://www.alumni.gatech.edu/news/magazine/spr94/research.html Link-Wills, Kimberly. "Plasma Power." Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine Online.http://www.gtalumni.org/Publications/magazine/sum02/article2.html Plasco Energy Group "Plasma Arc Systems." CMPS&F Environment Australia. Appropriate Technologies for the Treatment of Scheduled Wastes. Review Report Number 4. November 1997.http://www.oztoxics.org/research/3000_hcbweb/ library/gov_fed/appteck/plasma.html StarTech United States Patent 6,971,323. Method and apparatus for treating waste.http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1= PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml %2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1= 6,971,323.PN.&OS=PN/6,971,323&RS=PN/6,971,323
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