Non-thermal plasma treatment of sludge and its model compounds: Gasification characteristics and reaction kinetics

Abstract

Plasma gasification stands as an effective technique for sludge treatment. This study focuses on investigating the characteristics of plasma sludge gasification using a plate barrier discharge reaction and examines both the sludge itself and its model compounds, glucose and leucine. A thorough analysis of voltage effects was conducted, and kinetic parameters for H2, CH4, and CO production were calculated. The findings revealed that increasing voltage led to higher concentrations of reaction products, with H2 being the predominate gas produced. Notably, glucose in the sludge contributed to CO2 production during the gasification reaction, while leucine played a vital role in enhancing H2 production. FTIR results showed that the initial step of the reaction primarily involved macromolecular ring-opening, followed by the secondary fracture of organic components, such as aromatic rings. Remarkably, the activation energy for sludge gasification under plasma was significantly lower (17.1 kJ/mol) compared to pyrolysis (above 70 kJ/mol).