title: Plasma gasification of refuse derived fuel in a single-stage system using different gasifying agents.
abstract: The renewable evolution in the energy industry and the depletion of natural resources are putting pressure on the waste industry to shift towards flexible treatment technologies with efficient materials and/or energy recovery. In this context, a thermochemical conversion method of recent interest is plasma gasification, which is capable of producing syngas from a wide variety of waste streams. The produced syngas can be valorized for both energetic (heat and/or electricity) and chemical (ammonia, hydrogen or liquid hydrocarbons) end-purposes. This paper evaluates the performance of experiments on a single-stage plasma gasification system for the treatment of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from excavated waste. A comparative analysis of the syngas characteristics and process yields was done for seven cases with different types of gasifying agents (CO2+O2, H2O, CO2+H2O and O2+H2O). The syngas compositions were compared to the thermodynamic equilibrium compositions and the performance of the single-stage plasma gasification of RDF was compared to that of similar experiments with biomass and to the performance of a two-stage plasma gasification process with RDF. The temperature range of the experiment was from 1400 to 1600 K and for all cases, a medium calorific value syngas was produced with lower heating values up to 10.9 MJ/Nm(3), low levels of tar, high levels of CO and H2 and which composition was in good agreement to the equilibrium composition. The carbon conversion efficiency ranged from 80% to 100% and maximum cold gas efficiency and mechanical gasification efficiency of respectively 56% and 95%, were registered. Overall, the treatment of RDF proved to be less performant than that of biomass in the same system. Compared to a two-stage plasma gasification system, the produced syngas from the single-stage reactor showed more favourable characteristics, while the recovery of the solid residue as a vitrified slag is an advantage of the two-stage set-up.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plasma Physics ASCR, Prague, Czech Republic; Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Flow, Heat and Combustion Mechanics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Nicholas.Agon@UGent.be.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Agon
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plasma Physics ASCR, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hrabovský
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plasma Physics ASCR, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chumak
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plasma Physics ASCR, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hlína
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plasma Physics ASCR, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kopecký
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plasma Physics ASCR, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masláni
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bosmans
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Helsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Gas, Coke and Air Protection, Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Skoblja
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van Oost
authors.affiliation: Department of Flow, Heat and Combustion Mechanics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vierendeels
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis*; D058626:Plasma Gases / Q000737:chemistry*; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D062611:Solid Waste / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D058626:Plasma Gases; D062611:Solid Waste
keywords: CO(2) gasification; Plasma gasification; Refuse-derived fuel; Single-stage; Steam gasification; Syngas production