Achieving

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Achieving Zero WastewithPlasma Arc Technology

• Louis J. Circeo, Ph.D.
• Director, Plasma Applications Research Program
• Robert C. Martin, Jr.
• Michael E. Smith

Electro-Optics, Environment and Materials
Laboratory
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Achieving Zero Waste

• Plasma arc technology offers a unique opportunity
  to achieve the zero waste goal by providing the
  capability to eliminate the need for land
  disposal of many hazardous wastes and to recover
  energy from municipal solid wastes and other
  organic wastes while producing salable byproducts
  and eliminating requirements for landfilling of
  ash or other residual materials.

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What is PLASMA?

• Fourth State of matter
• Ionized gas at high temperature capable of
  conducting electrical current
• Lightning is an example from nature

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Non-transferred arc plasma torch
In a plasma arc torch, the plasma gas serves as a
resistive heating element to convert electricity
into heat. Because it is a gas and cannot melt,
temperatures in excess of 7000C can be produced.
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Plasma torch in operation
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Characteristics of Plasma Arc Technology

• Plasma acts as a resistive heating element that
  cannot melt and fail
• Produces temperatures of 4,000C to over 7,000C
• Torch power levels from 100kW to 200 MW produce
  high energy densities (up to 100 MW/m3)
• Torch operates with most gases not a combustion
  process
• Elimination of requirement for combustion air
• Reduces gas volume requiring treatment
• Reduces potential for formation of complex
  organics (i.e., dioxins and furans)

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Plasma arc technology is ideally suited for waste
treatment

• Hazardous toxic compounds broken down to
  elemental constituents by high temperatures
• Organic materials
• Pyrolyzed or volatilized
• May be converted to fuel gases
• Amenable to conventional off-gas treatment
• Residual materials (radionuclides, heavy metals,
  etc.) immobilized in a rock-like vitrified mass
  which is highly resistant to leaching

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Plasma arc technology remediation experience

• Heavy metals
• Radioactive wastes
• Industrial sludges
• Municipal solid waste
• Electric arc furnace dust
• Liquid/solid organic wastes

• PCBs
• Asbestos
• Chemical wastes
• Medical wastes
• Plastics
• Used tires

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Waste Processing ApplicationsofPlasma Arc
Technology
Waste Destruction
Energy/Material Recovery
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Waste Destruction Applications

• Melting and vitrification of inorganic materials
• Pyrolysis of organic materials
• Molten metal or glass bath provides heat transfer
• Heat causes breakdown of complex materials into
  elemental components
• Rapid quenching prevents complex compound
  formation (dioxins and furans)
• Water gas shift reaction to remove carbon
• C H2O ? H2 CO
• Gaseous products are fuel and simple acid gases
• Vitreous residue is resistant to leaching
  suitable for aggregate

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U.S. asbestos stockpile disposal
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French Asbestos-Containing Materials (ACM)
disposal system
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Incinerator ash disposal
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Navy shipboard system
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Navy Shipboard System contd
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Recent Commercial Applications

• Mixed waste treatment facility-Richland, WA
• Allied Technology Group (ATG)
• Medical waste vitrification facility-Honolulu, HI
• Asia Pacific Environmental Technologies (APET)
• Incinerator ash vitrification facilities Europe
  and Japan
• Europlasma
• IHI Inc./Westinghouse Plasma

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Recent DoD Plasma Furnace Applications

• Plasma Arc Shipboard Waste Destruction System
  (PAWDS)
• U.S. Navy Warships (NSWCCD)
• Plasma Arc Hazardous Waste Treatment System
  (PAHWTS)
• U.S. Naval Base, Norfolk, VA (Office of Naval
  Research, Environmentally Sound Ships Program)
• Plasma Ordnance Demilitarization System (PODS)
• Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, IN (Defense
  Ammunition Center)

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Recent DoD Plasma Furnace Applications contd

• Plasma Waste Treatment System (Pyrotechnics and
  Energetics)
• Hawthorne Army Ammunition Plant, NV (Armament
  Research and Development Engineering Center)
• Plasma Energy Pyrolysis System (PEPS)
  Demonstration Facility (Medical Waste and Blast
  Media), Lorton, VA
• U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research
  Laboratories (CERL)
• Mobile PEPS Demonstration System, U. S. Army CERL

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Mobile Plasma Energy Pyrolysis System (PEPS)
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GaTech Plasma Waste Processing Demonstration
System

• Developed by USACERL
• Congressional funding
• Cost 6 Million
• Capacity 10 tons/day
• Complete system
• Feed Tapping
• Furnace
• Emissions control
• Wastewater treatment
• 1MW mobile generator

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Georgia Tech Plasma Waste Processing and
Demonstration System
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Plasma Processing for Energy and Materials
Recovery

• Research on waste destruction noted that
  pyrolysis produced useful fuel gases and inert
  residuals from organic wastes including MSW
• Relatively high plasma energy requirements (600
  kWh/ton) and capital cost of complex molten bath
  reactors limited economic feasibility of
  pyrolysis processes
• Use of gasification technology has made plasma a
  more economically attractive alternative

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Plasma Pyrolysis of MSW
Gas Heating Value OutputElectricity Input
4.30
Product Gas30,300 SCFHeating Value 8.16 MBTU
Based on data from Resorption Canada, Ltd.
1995(Summarized and converted to English units)
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Hitachi Metals Plasma MSW System Japan
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Hitachi Metals200 TPD MSW Plant - Utashinai Japan
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Hitachi MetalsUtashinai, Japan Plant

• Commercial 200 ton/day plasma processing system
• Designed for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and
  Automobile Shredder Residue (ASR)
• Represents MSW from approximately 30,000 US
  households
• Plant has two plasma reactors
• Four 300 kW torches (Westinghouse Plasma Corp.)
  per reactor
• Each reactor will process 4 tons/hr
• Generates 7.9 MW of electricity (4.3 MW to grid)
• Could supply 4,000 US households with electricity
  (up to 15 of households supplying waste to the
  system)
• Fully operational in April 2003

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Vitrified MSW residue
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Leachability of Vitrified MSW Residue (TCLP)
Metal Permissible concentration (mg/l) Measured Concentration (mg/l)
Arsenic 5.0 lt0.1
Barium 100.0 lt0.5
Cadmium 1.0 lt0.02
Chromium 5.0 lt0.2
Lead 5.0 lt0.2
Mercury 0.2 lt0.01
Selenium 1.0 lt0.1
Silver 5.0 lt0.5
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MSW Solid Byproduct Uses
Molten Stream Processing(Product)
Air Cooling(Gravel)
Water Cooling(Sand)
Water Cooling(Metal Nodules)
Air Blown(Rock Wool)
Salable Product Uses
Coarse Aggregate (roads, concrete, asphalt)
Fine Aggregate (concrete, asphalt, concrete products)
Recyclable metals
Insulation, sound proofing, agriculture
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PLASMA PROCESSING OF MSW AT COAL-FIRED POWER
PLANTS

• Concept
• Collocate MSW plasma processing plants (in
  modules of 1,000 TPD) with existing operational
  coal-fired power plants.
• The amount of coal supplied to a plant will be
  reduced, proportionate to the thermal output of
  the MSW plant.
• The hot gaseous emissions from the plasma plant
  afterburner system will be fed directly into the
  coal plant combustion chamber to supplement the
  combusted coal gases.
• The combined plasma and coal gaseous emissions
  would produce steam and power equal to the normal
  coal plant generating capacity.
• MSW would replace large volumes of coal for
  power generation in a very efficient,
  cost-effective and environmentally cleaner
  operation.

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PLASMA PROCESSING OF MSW AT COAL-FIRED POWER
PLANTS

• Reduced Capital Costs of MSW Plant(1)
• Use existing power plant facilities
• Steam generation system
• Off gas treatment system
• Electrical generating system
• Use existing transportation network
• Build on power plant land, if feasible
• (1) Geoplasma, LLC estimated costs

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PLASMA PROCESSING OF MSW AT COAL-FIRED POWER
PLANTS

• Summary
• By 2020, if all MSW was processed by plasma at
  coal-fired power plants (1 million TPD), MSW
  could
• Supply about 5 of U.S. electricity needs
• Replace about 140 million TPY of coal
• Eliminate about 15 million TPY of coal ash
  going to landfills
• Provide significantly cleaner coal plant air
  emissions
• Support the goals of the Clear Skies Act

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YEAR 2020SELECTED RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

• Source Quads
• (1015 BTU)
• Plasma Processed MSW(1) 0.90
• Geothermal(2) 0.47
• Landfill Gas(2) 0.12
• Solar(2) 0.09
• Wind(2) 0.04
• _____________________
• Assumes 1 million TPD
• Extrapolated from 1999 statistics

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Capital Costs Incineration vs Plasma
Gasification Facilities
(Note Plasma Costs are Geoplasma LLC Estimates)
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Potential DoD Applications

• Processing of hazardous wastes
• Major installations
• Industrial activities (depots, Air Force Plants)
• Bare Base and Zero Footprint Operations
• Process solid and sanitary wastes
• Eliminate landfill or shipping of residuals
• Recovery of energy as steam or hot water

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Barriers to implementation of Plasma Arc
Technology

• Successful commercial applications in US
• Regulatory acceptance and permitting
• Public acceptance

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For More Information

• Contact
• Lou Circeo lou.circeo_at_gtri.gatech.edu
  (404-894-2070)
• Bob Martin bob.martin_at_gtri.gatech.edu
  (404-894-8446)
• Mike Smith mike.smith_at_gtri.gatech.edu
• (404-894-0281)

Georgia Tech Research Institute EOEML/SHETD/ETB 43
0 Tenth Street NW Atlanta, GA 30332-0837