Lignite Gasification in Thermal Steam Plasma

Abstract

Recycling of organic waste is an increasingly hot topic in recent years. This issue becomes even more interesting if such processing leads to a source of hydrogen or syngas for fuel production. A process of high-temperature decomposition of lignite was studied on the plasma gasification reactor PLASGAS, where water-stabilized plasma torch was used as a source of high-enthalpy plasma. The plasma torch power was 120 kW and allowed heating of the reactor to more than 1000 °C. The material feeding rate in the gasification reactor was 30 or 60 kg per hour that is comparable to a small industrial production process. The efficiency evaluation of the thermal decomposition process was performed. Energy balance of the process was carried out as well as an influence of the lignite particle size and the addition of methane (CH4) on the synthesis gas composition. The ratio H2/CO was in the range of 1.5–2.5 depending on the experimental conditions.