ABSTRACT

In Nature there is no such thing as "waste". If it were not for the "waste" oxygen that plants produce, we would not have oxygen to breathe. Now the plan is to reuse (decompose) the available materials so that it can be assimilated by another life form. During the past centuries, industrial processes and energy conversion plants havent shown care for environmental quality. The result is a huge accumulation of pollution and hazardous by-products, left as a heritage for the present and future generations. Recuperation of by-products or thermal energy is not only motivated by cost saving, but also by resource saving considerations. These ideas opened the doors for the evolution of a technique called PLASMA TECHNOLOGY. The driving force behind the task is to give priority to environmental quality at affordable costs. A plasma based remediation system is the only technology that prevents undesired pollution in the by-products. The crucial element is the plasma torch performance. Plasma technology utilizes the intense heat of an electric arc to generate electricity from waste. NASA have refined and improved the Plasma Arc technology in both efficiency and expanding user applications, including all sorts of Municipal Waste like Contaminated Soils, Medical wastes, Hazardous wastes, suspended Volatile Metals, Thermal batteries. In this technique, Plasma Arc Heaters use electricity as a source of energy and convert it into a clean, low mass heat which generates plasma which produces electricity. It provides specific size, cost, operability and operational advantages over other state-of-the-art technologies in addition, to the cleaner environment.

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PREVAILING PROBLEM FINDING SOLUTION PLASMA WASTE TREATMENT o PRINCIPLE o DESCRIPTION USING BLOCK DIAGRAM HANDLING CAPABILITIES AND MAINTENANCE MATERIALS TREATED USING PLASMA TECHNOLOGY CONFIGURATION VARIABILITY ADVANTAGES OF PLASMA TECHNOLOGY DISADVANTAGES OF PLASMA TECHNOLOGY POTENTIAL IN INDIA CONCLUSION REFERENCE

INTRODUCTION
Plasma treatment is a technologically advanced and environmentally friendly process of disposing waste materials and converting them to commercially usable by-products. Plasma treatment, technically known as gasification, is a non-incineration thermal process that uses extremely high temperatures in oxygen starved environment to completely decompose input waste material into very simple molecules. The by-products of the process are a combustible gas and an inert slag. Furthermore, it consistently exhibits much lower environmental levels for both air emissions and slag leachate toxicity than competing technologies like incineration. A typical plasma treatment system consists of a feed preparation subsystem, a plasma furnace and a gas cleaning system. It is mentioned here that the amount of off-gas produced by the plasma furnace, is less than a half of the amount produced by a comparable capacity incinerator. Furthermore and most importantly, due to the high operating temperatures in plasma furnace and to the following rapid quenching with water, the formation of complex molecules, such as dioxins, is prevented. The product gas of the process is actually a clean synthesis gas, composed primarily of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and nitrogen with smaller amounts of methane, acetylene and ethylene. Starting from this point, a proposal for an integrated process design of the plasma treatment is presented in this work. The main goal of the proposed process design is to optimize the overall efficiency of the system by recovering the maximum amount of energy, which is expected to be sufficient not only to satisfy the electricity requirements of the plant but also to be available for sale.

PREVAILING PROBLEM
The problem to be solved is twofold 1. Disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) 2. Generation of Energy as the fossil fuels is being exhausted. The huge quantities of waste generated every day, coupled with the lack of safe and affordable storage and processing, threatens our health, costs taxpayers money and destroys the delicate natural balance. All this waste penetrates the ecosystem, contaminating our soil and ground water. Moreover, conventional waste disposal methods do not address contamination, because the harmful residues left behind, such as ash, dust, and gases, cannot be filtered off. The proper disposal of household waste is a problem waiting for the right solution. And it is a pressing problem. Moreover, there are protests and concerns from communities who live near landfills and incineration sites about their quality of life and the long-term effects of being near this waste on their health. And there is little time to find a solution. What do we do then?

FINDING SOLUTION
Waste Generally the term Waste refers to Not useful and Not necessary thing which are generally logged on, but with the advancement in science and as per law of conservation of energy Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed but can be transferred from one form to another paved the way for waste treatment technology there by making a right usage of energy trapped in them. Waste Treatment Waste treatment techniques are used to change the physical, chemical, or biological character of the waste, to reduce its volume and/or toxicity, and to make the waste safer for disposal and for further usage, thereby preventing the pollutions caused and helping in maintaining a clean and green earth. There are several waste treatment methods currently available. . I believe we have the solution PLASMA. Plasma Technology holds the highest precedence due to its efficiency and expanding user applications.

PLASMA WASTE TREATMENT

Plasma technologies for environmental cleanup and waste management are rapidly emerging. Plasma technology utilizes the intense heat of an electric arc to treat the most difficult waste such as nuclear waste, military waste, and chemical waste. In particular, this technology has proven effective in encapsulating inorganic compounds in a non-leachable, glass-like slag while also destroying organic compounds by the extreme heat of the process. Utilizing this Plasma technology, scientists who previously worked for NASA, have refined and improved the Plasma Arc technology in both efficiency and expanding user applications of waste treatment, including Municipal Solid Waste, all toxic & hazardous waste streams, medical waste, Low Level Radioactive waste, etc. At extremely high temperatures, all waste constituents, including metals, toxic materials, silicon, etc. are completely melted, forming nontoxic dross. Plastic, biological and chemical compounds, as well as toxic gases, decompose into simpler gases, such as Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide. In the case of Hydrogen, it can be used as a clean burning fuel reducing significantly the costs of plasma formation and waste utilization. Moreover, regained metals from this process can be safely returned to metallurgic industry, and the slag can be used as an additive to road and construction materials. Treating municipal waste with plasma does not produce foul odors or a harmful ash, something all too common in the traditional incinerating plant.

PRINCIPLE
A plasma arc operates on principles similar to an arc-welding machine, where an electrical arc is struck between two electrodes. Plasma Arc Heaters use electricity as a source of energy and convert it into a clean, low mass heat. Low mass heat means that very little gas is used to generate the "Plasma", the 4th state of matter. The Plasma conducts electricity like a metal wire and also like a metal wire Plasma resists the flow of electrical current. The

resistance to the flow of electrical current is the mechanism for converting electricity into heat. This heat is used to generate electricity which is usually more than the electricity supplied to it. However, unlike metal wires and other standard heating techniques that have melting temperature limitations, the Plasma conductor has no temperature limitation. This unique ability of the Plasma Arc Column makes it possible to generate sustained heat at temperatures much higher than is possible by combustion heaters or metallic resistance heaters. The sustained high temperatures that are achievable only by Plasma heaters qualify this novel heat source for the specific and stringent heating demands of our waste management systems.

A commercial plasma torch is shown below.

DESCRIPTION
Plasma gasification is a non-incineration thermal process which uses extremely high temperatures in an oxygen-starved environment to completely decompose input material into very simple molecules. The extreme heat and lack of oxygen results in pyrolysis of the input waste material. Pyrolysis is the decomposition of matter in the absence of oxygen. Incineration is merely the burning of waste material in the presence of oxygen, and incinerators have significant air emission control problems.

The above block diagram clearly explains the process that is done in plasma technology of waste treatment.

1. Waste is conveyed from the storage area into a hopper shaped apparatus then it is crushed before the entry in to the plasma cupola and finally enters the cupola via an air lock chamber. 2. The extremely hot (10000F) plasma torches at the bottom of the cupola convert the waste into fuel gas and liquid slag. 3. The slag runs out the bottom into a pool of water. The slag is converted into granular pieces that are completely inert and can be used as aggregate (a crushed stone product that is used for construction foundations, roads etc.) or shaped into paving bricks or other construction materials. The picture below shows the glass slag and rocky slag formed after plasma arc treatment.

4. Some metals that are available in the Municipal solid waste can also regained through this process. 5. The process is oxygen deprived (there is no combustion) and it creates a synthetic fuel gas called syngas. The syngas leaves the cupola at the top. 6. The syngas leaves the cupola at about (2000F to 4000F) and immediately sent to a heat exchanger where the syngas exchanges its heat to water making steam. Now the syngas is reduced to 400F. the steam produced in the heat exchanger is used to drive turbines that generate electricity by a steam turbine driven electric generator. 7. Once the syngas is cooled, it is cleaned and scrubbed to remove the contaminants such as sodium bisulphite. The syngas is now ready to be used in the power plant. 8. Ethanol plant is used optionally to separate ethanol from the syngas. 9. The compressors present in the assembly pulls over the syngas from the plasma cupola through the heat exchangers and gas cleaners then compress the gas for use in a gas turbine and gas rotates the turbine to generate electricity. 10. The syngas is now consumed to produce heat energy. Once again through heat exchangers steam is generated and passed through steam generators to generate electricity. 11. And finally the steam can be conveyed for the distillation unit and the water can be used for drinking purposes. This is only a optional part of Plasma Treatment.

HANDLING CAPABILITIES AND MAINTENANCE

Plasma gasification systems can be implemented in virtually any size capacity. They are modular which provides operability and maintainability advantages. Modularity also provides for future growth at minimal incremental cost. The standard module size for normal municipal solid waste is 300 tons per day. Such a module is comprised of one or two individual plasma heating sources per vessel which would permit efficient operation through a wide range of waste throughput. Plasma systems are very reliable since no moving parts are involved. An annual inspection of the refractory can easily achieve a very high availability, with an up-time of 340 days plus per year.

MATERIALS TREATED USING PLASMA TECH

Plasma gasification is a generic type process which can accommodate virtually any input waste material in as-received condition, including liquids, gases and solids in any form, combination or packaging. Moisture content is not a problem. Liquids, gases and small particle size waste materials are very easily and efficiently processed. Bulky items, such as household appliances, tires and bedsprings, can also be readily accommodated without loss of destruction efficiency. The reactor vessel and waste feed mechanism are designed for the physical characteristics of the input waste stream. Even waste materials such as low-level radioactive waste can be processed to reduce the bulk and encapsulate the radioactive constituents to reduce leachability (Percolation). The following types of waste could be treated using the Plasma technologies: Contaminated Soils, Medical wastes, Hazardous wastes, including polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), Municipal waste, Oxidant with hydrocarbon, Small Arms Ammunition, Coal ash, Waste with suspended Volatile Metals, Thermal batteries and Low-level Radioactive wastes.

CONFIGURATION VARIABLITY
Plasma technology allows the formation of a Fuel to Energy facility of different configuration depending on the end user requirements. Plasma gasification systems are highly modular, which provides tremendous versatility and configuration flexibility to handle wide variations in the type and quantity of input waste loads. Since the heat source is completely independent of the existing infrastructure, full flexibility is realized to implement any configuration to best meet the needs of the waste type and quantity. Plasma gasification systems can be implemented as an adjunct to existing processes, such as incinerators or coal-fired power plants. The plasma system can process the bottom and fly ashes, as well as flue gases directly from the incinerator or coal-fired power plants. Mobile/transportable plasma systems are under development to provide waste disposal services to locations which do not have sufficient waste quantities to justify a permanent installation. If needed, plasma gasification systems can be installed largely underground for aesthetic purposes. Such installations require only a single floor above ground to house administrative offices and provide an area for waste haulers.

ADVANTAGES OF PLASMA TECHNOLOGY

Plasma gasification is not a new technology but its application for waste treatment, electricity generation and processing is new. The technology addresses those concerns which other technologies could not address. It provides specific size, cost, operability and operational advantages over other state-of-the-art technologies. In addition, to the cleaner environmental emission characteristics, plasma gasification offers the following unique advantages: 1. Can handle any waste material in any form without loss of destruction efficiency; therefore, there is no need for additional treatment or disposal of the solid constituents of many waste materials, such as contaminated steel drums. 2. Requires an extremely small space compared to other disposal technologies. It can be installed within an existing superstructure, underground for a pleasing aesthetic appearance increasing public acceptance. 3. The unit is modular and thus provides much operational flexibility. Initial capacity can be geared to the initial requirement and the modularity feature can provide the desired growth when required, at a minimal cost. 4. Produces a combustible gas as a discrete byproduct. This gas can be used immediately, stored for future use or piped to a remote location for use. On the other hand an incinerator automatically produces steam regardless of steam demand. 5. Process is independent of input moisture content; therefore, there is no loss of destruction efficiency if the moisture solid waste is more. 6. The amount of land required for USP's Plasma Gasification system is significantly less than for landfill or incineration disposal methods. 7. The Plasma Gasification Process creates two revenue-generating byproducts. An energy rich gas that can be used to create electricity. A slag that has many and varied commercial uses. 8. A Plasma Gasification Operator can offer its clients freedom from downstream liability because the processed waste is chemically nonrecognizable. 9. Provides for the complete removal of all carbon from the input material. This destruction efficiency is in marked contrast to incineration which can leave as much as 30 percent unprocessed material in the ash! Process provides an immense volume reduction ratio of input material to slag. This figure is in excess of 250:1 for as-received municipal waste (99.6 percent reduction) and 400:1 reduction for boxed biomedical waste (99.7 percent reduction). Other technologies such as incineration offer only 5:1 (80 percent reduction). The bar chart in the next page shows the amount of co2 released in pounds during the generation of 1MWH of electricity by various methods of waste treatment.

From the above data it is very clear that plasma technology is superior to other regarding the pollution abatement.

10. Also regarding the generation of electricity the plasma technology stands first ahead of other technologies. This is because of the fact that plasma technology uses three times the energy produced first by the heat exchange of syngas and second by the compression of syngas and finally by consuming the syngas. The pie chart below describes the net generation of electricity in kWh per ton of Municipal Solid Waste consumed.

DISADVANTAGES OF PLASMA TECHNOLOGY

Plasma technology suffers only a few disadvantages Waste-to-Energy is still a new concept in the country The costs of the projects especially based on biomethanation technology are high as critical equipment for a project is required to be imported. If our country manufactures the components then this project will be cost effective.

POTENTIAL IN INDIA
There exists a potential for generating an estimated 1700 MW of power from the urban and municipal waste, and about 1000 MW from industrial wastes in the country. The potential is likely to increase further with economic development. Potential for recovery of energy (MW) from urban wastes STATE MAHARASHTRA TAMILNADU DELHI ENTIRE INDIA LIQUID WASTE 37 14 20 226 SOLID WASTE 250 137 111 1457 TOTAL 287 151 131 1683

This is a survey made by National Solid Waste Association of India (NSWAI) Thus from the above data furnished INDIA has vast potential for generating energy through plasma technology of which TAMILNADU stands second. If all the wastes in our state are processed through plasma technology then we can generate 150MW so that environment can maintained clean and frequent power cuts in our state can be reduced.

CONCLUSION
Environmental standards invariably become more stringent and improved standards are achieved when new technologies demonstrate they can reliably meet more stringent limits. The plasma gasification process effectively produces no associated air, soil, groundwater or surface water contamination. The plasma gasification process is in full commercialization that the wastes produced by society are converted into useful commercial by-products. I hope that this brief article has helped to inform people about the benefits of plasma technology in waste disposal. Lets be clear. Plasma incineration is a clean, safe, affordable, and highly effective method of waste disposal. Making it the standard method of waste disposal will solve one of our societys most pressing problems and make better place to live, work, and raise a family.

WASTE IS WEALTH SO DONT WASTE IT

REFERENCE 1. 2. 3. 4.
The Recovered Energy System: Discussion on Plasma Gasification". www.recoveredenergy.com John Walker, the 1997 Nobel Prize-winning discovery in chemistry by Roderick McKinnon www.wikipedia.org