Numerical Simulation of Thermal Plasma Gasification Process

Abstract

Numerical analysis of plasma gasification process was carried out base on the combination of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A two stage gasification system which consists of a heater and a plasma rector was used to enhance syngas production in the present work. Nitrogen thermal plasma jet generated by a low power plasma torch was analyzed by a self-developed MHD code, and complex thermal flow field in the plasma reactor was simulated with a commercial CFD code. The accuracy of numerical simulation was confirmed from the comparison between numerical results and experimentally measured data of arc voltage and reactor temperature. From the numerical analysis, a high temperature for the thermal cracking of methane was expected in the upper region of the plasma reactor.