Abstract
Rapidly increasing solid waste generation and energy demand are two critical issues of the current century. Plasma gasification, a type of waste-to-energy (WtE) technology, has the potential to produce clean energy from waste and safely destroy hazardous waste. Among plasma gasification technologies, microwave (MW)-driven plasma offers numerous potential advantages to be scaled as a leading WtE technology if its processes are well understood and optimized. This paper reviews studies on modeling experimental microwave-induced plasma gasification systems. The system characterization requires developing mathematical models to describe the multiphysics phenomena within the reactor. The injection of plasma-forming gases and carrier gases, the rate of the waste stream, and the operational power heavily influence the initiation of various chemical reactions that produce syngas. The type and kinetics of the chemical reactions taking place are primarily influenced by either the turbulence or temperature. Navier–Stokes equations are used to describe the mass, momentum, and energy transfer, and the k-epsilon model is often used to describe the turbulence within the reactor. Computational fluid dynamics software offers the ability to solve these multiphysics mathematical models efficiently and accurately.
Highlights
In 1950, the global population was estimated at approximately 2.5 billion individuals; current predictions foresee a 2050 population of about 10.6 billion individuals [1]
This review focused on experimental microwave-induced plasma gasification (EMIPG) system reactors
An EMIPG system is constituted by various components: power supply and microwave source, wave propagation section, plasma reactor, plasma-forming gases, carrier gas, feedstock inputs, and data collection equipment
Summary
In 1950, the global population was estimated at approximately 2.5 billion individuals; current predictions foresee a 2050 population of about 10.6 billion individuals [1]. Plasma fixed/moving bed reactor systems are the simplest reactors and consist of a bed of solid waste, a waste feeding unit, an ash removal unit, and a syngas exit [9] These reactors offer the advantage of a simple setup and have been proven in large-scale demonstration projects. Spout reactor systems are a combination of a fluidized bed and a plasma spouted bed in which the plasma flame is combined with a fluid gas flow [9] These reactors are able to obtain higher operating temperatures and a higher rate of mixing than the previous reactors. This limitation is of important note as an increase in microwave systems will demand more power and could perhaps limit the efficiency of large systems This type of limitation is experienced with DC and AC plasma gasification systems, as their electrode size and power input need to be increased to be utilized as larger, commercial systems
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