1. Achieving “Zero Waste” with Plasma 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

2. 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.

3. What is PLASMA? “Fourth State” of matter
Ionized gas at high temperature capable of conducting electrical current
Lightning is an example from nature

4. 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 7000°C can be produced.

5. Plasma torch in operation

6. Characteristics of Plasma Arc Technology
Plasma acts as a resistive heating element that cannot melt and fail
Produces temperatures of 4,000°C to over 7,000°C
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)

7. 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 P

8. Plasma arc technology remediation experience
Heavy metals
Radioactive wastes
Industrial sludges
Municipal solid waste
Electric arc furnace dust
Liquid/solid organic wastes
PCB’s
Asbestos
Chemical wastes
Medical wastes
Plastics
Used tires

9. Waste Processing Applications of Plasma Arc Technology
Waste Destruction
Energy/Material Recovery

10. 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

11. U.S. asbestos stockpile disposal

12. French Asbestos-Containing Materials (ACM) disposal system

13. Incinerator ash disposal

14. Navy shipboard system

15. Navy Shipboard System – cont’d

16. 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

17. 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)

18. Recent DoD Plasma Furnace Applications – cont’d
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

19. Mobile Plasma Energy Pyrolysis System (PEPS)

20. 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

21. Georgia Tech Plasma Waste Processing and Demonstration System

22. 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

23. Plasma Pyrolysis of MSW
Gas Heating Value Output Electricity Input
= 4.30
Steam Negligible
Gas Heat Energy 1.05 MBtu
MSW 1 Ton – 9.39 Mbtu 33% Moisture
PLASMA
GASIFIER
Product Gas 30,300 SCF Heating Value = 8.16 MBTU
Losses 1.77 MBtu
Electricity 0.56 MWHr – 1.90 MBtu
Based on data from Resorption Canada, Ltd (Summarized and converted to English units)

24. Hitachi Metals Plasma MSW System – Japan
Plasma Torch
Metal
Coke and Limestone
Slag
Excess Heat Utilization & Power Generation

25. Hitachi Metals 200 TPD MSW Plant - Utashinai Japan

26. Hitachi Metals Utashinai, 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

27. Vitrified MSW residue

28. Leachability of Vitrified MSW Residue (TCLP)
Metal
Permissible concentration (mg/l)
Measured Concentration (mg/l)
Arsenic
5.0
<0.1
Barium
100.0
<0.5
Cadmium
1.0
<0.02
Chromium
<0.2
Lead
Mercury
0.2
<0.01
Selenium
Silver

29. 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

30. 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.

31. 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

32. 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

33. YEAR 2020 SELECTED 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)
_____________________
Assumes 1 million TPD
Extrapolated from 1999 statistics

34. Capital Costs: Incineration vs Plasma Gasification Facilities
(Note: Plasma Costs are Geoplasma LLC Estimates)

35. 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

36. Barriers to implementation of Plasma Arc Technology
Successful commercial applications in US
Regulatory acceptance and permitting
Public acceptance

37. Georgia Tech Research Institute
For More Information:
Contact:
Lou Circeo: ( )
Bob Martin: ( )
Mike Smith:
( )
Georgia Tech Research Institute
EOEML/SHETD/ETB
430 Tenth Street NW
Atlanta, GA