APPLICATIONS OF PLASMA TECHNOLOGY IN ENERGY SECTOR

Abstract

Today, the use of plasma technology in production ofenergy from waste, biomass and coal has become quite widespread in the worlddue to the unique and outstanding features of plasma. Experimental andtheoretical studies have shown that plasma based system in energy production isa promising alternative to classical system in terms of efficiency, environmentaland economic aspects. Plasma assisted combustion, gasification and pyrolysisare different methods used in energy production. Considering the plasmatechnology applications in energy sector, it is widely used in developedcountries like Europe and USA for the energy production from the waste andbiomass, but plasma is generally preferred in eastern countries like China,Kazakhstan and Russia for plasma coal gasification and plasma assisted coalburning at thermal plant. Different plasma torch systems (AC, DC and RF) usedin these applications are seen in the literature. This paper gives an overviewon plasma technologies in energy production from different energy sources(waste, biomass, coal) by different techniques such as combustion, gasificationand pyrolysis. In comparison of AC, DC and RF plasma torches in the scientificliterature, it has been considered that AC plasma torch is a prominenttechnology due to some advantages especially in high power as megawatt levels.Lastly, economic assessment is presented and estimated budget for systeminstallation is given for different systems. Although the technology readinesslevel of the plasma technologies has a level of maturity (over 6) in ourfacilities at AR&TeCS (ARTECS Inc., Ankara University Technopolis, Gölbaşı,Ankara), the application on the different type of waste management or plasmaassisted coal burning/gasification needs some additional R&D activitiesespecially in simulation and modelling for obtaining optimum conditions,process development and controlling of gasification/combustion process.Finally, some technical experience from the high-power alternating current (AC)plasma system established at AR&TeCS is shared.