Kalafrana Rambler: Plasma Gasification

Turning rubbish into fuel

Not all technology is exciting or sexy but some of the duller bits are impressive all the same. One such area is the plasma gasification process for turning rubbish into fuel.

The plasma gasification cycle

Traditional incineration of garbage does not find favour with environmentalists and our ever increasing demand for landfill sites is equally unpopular and ultimately unsustainable.

Plasma gasification uses a 6000 degree plasma arc operating in an oxygen-starved closed environment to transform materials to their basic molecular state. In the process synthetic gas (syngas) is produced and this can be harvested for generating power. The tremendous heat levels mean that all metals are liquified and can be collected from the base of the reactor.

Not clear on how this works? Read this for a good, plain English description of the process of plasma gasification.

Expect to see a lot more interest in this technology as the world searches for solutions to our growing waste and fuel concerns.