Plasma Gasification Research Paper

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One of the increasingly popular types of gasification is Plasma Gasification. Plasma gasification technology has been shown to be the most effective and environmentally friendly method for solid waste treatment and energy utilisation. It is a non-incineration thermal process that uses extremely high temperatures in a partial oxygen environment to decompose completely the input waste material into very simple molecules. The products of the process are a fuel or gas known as synthesis gas and an inert vitreous material known as slag (Stehlı´k, 2009). Plasma gasification uses an external heat source to gasify the waste, resulting in very little combustion. Almost all of the carbon is converted to fuel. The high operating temperatures allow…show more content…
The plasma furnace is the central component of the system where gasification and vitrification takes place. Plasma torches are mounted at the bottom of the reactor, they provide high temperature air (i.e., almost three times higher than traditional combustion temperatures) which allow for the gasification of the waste materials. The gas produced in the furnace system is referred to as synthesis gas. This gas then enters the synthesis gas cleaning system. Gas cleaning refers to the process of removing acid gases, suspended particulates, heavy metals and moisture from the synthesis gas prior to entering the energy recovery system where power, steam and synthetic fuels can be obtained. Unlike waste incineration, plasma gasification WTE technology has proven to have a benign impact on the environment. Daniela.T et al in their work on effect of excess air ratio on syngas produced by gasification of agricultural residues briquettes they noted that the syngas composition and syngas heating value are strongly influenced by the excess air ratio. Concentrations of H2 and CO usually decrease with the increase in excess air ratio, while the concentrations of N2, CO2 and CH4 increase. At a lower excess air ratio, a syngas with a high heating value is…show more content…
The basis of gasification is to supply less oxidant than would be required for stoichiometric combustion of a solid fuel. Stoichiometric combustion occurs when all the carbon in the fuel is converted to CO2 and there is no excess O2 left over. Doherty, W. et al (2009) noted that the energy value of the useful gas is typically 75% of the chemical heating value of the original solid fuel and the syngas temperature will be substantially higher than the original solid fuel due to the gasification process. 2.8.5 Landfill gas (LFG) collection and utilization Landfills produce landfill gas by the degradation of organic matter under anaerobic conditions. The evaluation of any landfill gas recovery project is highly effected by the composition of waste, specifically the organic fraction, moisture level, and the “degradation” factor of different waste components. Like those landfills with high food waste contents, relatively faster decay to generate landfill gas over short period of time (SCS Engineers, 2005). 2.9 Choice of Feasible Technology and Other Affecting

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