Mobile Plasma Pyrolysis

Abstract

A thermal plasma, properly applied to toxic waste destruction, provides a pyrolytic environment with distinct advantages over other competing technologies. Complete atomization of organic fluids has been demonstrated to occur in less than one third of a millisecond. Kinetic recombinations of atomic entities are predictable. Chlorinated wastes produce a hydrogen chloride byproduct which is completely converted to salt in a caustic scrubber. Destruction efficiencies in excess of 99.9999 percent have been corroborated by external monitoring agencies for the destruction of Askarel fluids with chlorine contents up to 58 percent. Since this process is pyrolytic, the scale of the equipment is small for high throughput rates. Energy requirements for the destruction of Askarels are typically less than one kilowatt-hour per kilogram of waste. A mobile prototype unit is being constructed for the Department of Environmental Conservation of the State of New York for a throughput rate of one gallon per minute of liquid waste. The mobility and efficiency of such systems limit the controversy associated with siting fixed facilities.