ABSTRACT The electric arc equipment allows to rich the extreme temperatures in any technologies of carbon containing raw

processing into gaseous products. In this connection our institutions are carry out the environment-friendly technology and equipment for steam plasma pyrolysis of medical waste. This technology makes available guarantee destroy of thermally-stable bacteria and excludes the formation of dioxins and furans. The conversion of the carbon containing raw into gaseous products may be seen as the next step in plasma steam technology development. The gaseous products, obtained in this process, may be used as alternative fuel or starting material for synthetic liquid fuels production. The modern level of fuels and energy supply price makes it economically attractive. The technology of alternative fuel production may be considered automatically as environment-friendly one as it developed from the equipment for medical waste destruction. 1. INTRODUCTION Plasma technologies and equipment are widely applied in metallurgy, welding and deposition of structural and functional coatings. Nowadays it finds new area of application. It seems to be highly promising for solving two exceptionally important problems faced to the modern society, namely: - environmental protection and recycling hazardous, in particular, organic highly urgent wastes; - development of new alternative methods of producing energy carriers of different types. Among the solid hazardous wastes constantly generated in huge amounts, the considerable part consists of organic substances (plastic containers and products, medicinal wastes, car tires, etc.). Annually the over 3 million tons of medical wastes appear in the USA, millions tons - in India and China, up to 1 million tons - in Russia, up to 0.6 million tons - in France. Not less hazardous wastes are prohibited or unsuitable for further utilization pesticides and a number of other highly toxic kinds of wastes [1 3]. In addition, there is a serious problem of recycling the liquid organic-containing wastes with high concentrations of the organic and carbon-containing component. Lot of industry and agricultural enterprises are sources of contamination of the environment, because of formation a large number of liquid wastes, which are water emulsions of organic and carbon-containing substances and various sewages. Currently applied technologies of such wastes purification, on the one hand, do not satisfy the norms on the limit of admissible content of harmful substances and, on the other, in view of their high cost, it essentially increase the cost of the manufactured products. However such solid and liquid organic- and carbon-containing wastes can be regarded as a source for producing an energy carrier synthesis gas. 2. ELECTRIC ARC PLASMA IN A PROBLEM OF CARBON CONTAINING MATERIALS CONVERSION The problem of energetic and technological applications of the dense electric arc plasma becomes of great importance and large-scale enough [4]. The necessary prerequisite for their development creates in the recent years by the observed world prices dynamics of primary energy resources. In turn, it only reflects the actual situation concerning the ratio of the world reserves and the availability of the basic kinds of primary fuel-energy resources at the economical level. Indeed, fossil fuel will remain the basis of mankind economic during the next decades. However, even with the assumption of consumption rates remaining the same, the oil reserves will last for 40, natural gas for 65, and coal for 250 years [5]. As compared to the 1970s data, the basic relations of the long-term analytical predictions didn't essentially change; only the time moment of the reserves depletion somewhat shifted to the future in absolute estimations. In addition, coal reserves are distributed rather uniformly among the basic regions and countries of the world making no stress between states concerning the availability of this kind of minerals. This fact provides a relative stability of its price indices. In contrast, the world oil prices dramatically changed during the last year; the same tendency concerns the natural gas prices supplied to Ukraine. The technologies of the plasma conversion of carbon-containing raw materials practically allow to reanimate on the modern level the production of synthetic gas-like and liquid fuels that rapidly developed in the world since the 19th century (starting from the illumination of cities at that time) but it were replaced in the second half of the 20th century with oil and natural gas which were cheap and available in that period [6]. The plasma gasification process allows obtaining synthesis-gas H 2 + CO from a carbon-containing raw material and water C + H20 = H2 + CO - 31.43 kcal /mole. (1) The heat necessary for this endothermic reaction is introducing into the system, for example, with water plasma contrary to the traditional gasification technologies where the energy of coal combustion is using [7]. It allows essentially intensify the process independently on the raw material quality. One more advantage is high calorific value of the produced gas due to absence of ballast nitrogen as its component. At last, this technology excludes the formation of

dioxins and furans due to high level temperature at the process of gasification. More than that, the destroy of the thermally-stable bacteria is guaranteed in a case if the carbon-containing raw material is a medicine waste. Now E O Paton Electric Welding Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) and the Gas Institute NASU perform the construction of an experimental setup for the realization of such technologies. However, the designing stage has already testified to the fact that the processes in such setups can now be analyzed only on the basis of the so-called weighted-mean indices, when the plasma processes are calculated by using their integral energy characteristics without regard for the peculiarities of plasma-chemical reactions. This fact doesn't allow to purposefully optimizing the operation of such setups. In particular, the real needs for the development of high-tech productions based on the use of plasma technologies in industry and power engineering accentuate the necessity of the activation of investigations in the field of plasma-chemistry as well as of plasma nonequilibrium properties [8]. 3. ELECTRIC ARC STEAM PLASMA PROCESSING OF MEDICINE WASTE Two processes are developed for the utilization of the above types of wastes, which are based on the application of arc plasma as a heat source for high-temperature gasification of its organic- or carbon-containing components [9 13]. The plasma forming gas in such processes is the water vapour. In the first case the plasma equipment for the treatment of hazardous solid organic-containing wastes includes a vapourplasma reactor with the mechanisms for waste loading and feeding, slag unloading, plasma unit with a vapour torch, specialized power source of 100-120 kW power, system of cooling and purification of effluent gases, system of computer control and monitoring, block of utilization of synthetic energy carrier. Performed assessment shows that the processing (plasma gasification) of 1 kg of medicinal wastes (tentative composition of 60% cellulose + 30% plastics + 10% liquid) requires about 1 kW-h of power, which is consumed for dissociation of these substances with producing of synthesis gas (CO + H 2) in the amount of 1.1 1.4 nm 3 from one kg of wastes. In this case the pyrolysis reaction runs: - cellulose C6H10O5 + heat CH2 + 2CO + 3H2O + 3C nCO +mH2, (2) - polyethylene CH2-CH2-]n + H2O + heat x CH2O + zCO nCO + mH2. (3) At combustion of synthesis gas the heat evolves as follows: CO + 1/2O2 = CO2, H = - 67.63 kcal, (4) H2 + 1/2O2 = H2O, H = - 57.82 kcal (5) with the total energy of H = - 125.45 kcal/mole. This corresponds to 2800 kcal/nm 3, which is equivalent to 3.26 kWh of power. That is, pyrolysis of 1 kg of medicinal wastes of the considered above composition results in formation of energy carrier of 3.59 4.56 kWh capacity, when recalculated into electric power. To ensure the unit efficiency of about 200 tons of wastes per year, what covers the demand of an average clinic, a plasma torch of about 40 kW power and water consumption of about 30 kg/h are required. Considering the converter power factor and requirements of the plasma unit proper, the power drawn from the mains is equal to: 40/(0.7-0.8) 51 58 kVA. The samples of experimental equipment for plasma steam processing of solid wastes productivity of 50 and 100 kg/h are shown in Fig 1. It should be noted that today there are no other technical means, except the plasma torch for generation of water vapour with the required thermodynamic indices, and in this case wt discuss the question of using the so-called vapour plasma (i.e. plasma, in which water vapour is used as the plasma forming gas). In Fig, 2 it is shown the plasma torch removed from the furnace in the process of equipment adjustment. It is supplied with water vapour at temperature 130 C and direct current up to 350 A. The described process ensures a highly efficient (up to 100%) processing of organic substances (including medicinal and other hazardous wastes) without emission into the environment of such harmful substances as dioxins, resins, phenols, aerosols, etc.).

Fig. 1. Experimental equipment for plasma steam processing of solid wastes productivity of 50 and 100 kg/hour In this case, as the desired product is the synthesis gas, which is a valuable energy carrier, as well as the safe solid products of processing vitrificated slag, suitable for further use, for instance, in building. During processing such hazardous elements as chlorine, fluorine, etc. present in the composition of many plastic materials are bound and easily removed. At gasification of carbon-containing substances by water vapour at high thermodynamic parameters, the gas phase lacks sulphur compounds and it remains completely in the solid residue (slag). Absence of ballast N 2 and free O2 in the reaction chamber eliminates the problem of NO x formation. The process of vapour-plasma gasification is insensitive to the humidity of the treated wastes. Using the vapour-plasma conversion allows anticipating a much higher degree of waste material conversion (irrespective of their composition) in the desired product synthesis gas. This provides new technical means for establishing more stringent ecological standards on toxic substance emission, including dioxins. Using the synthesis gas produced during processing for independent powering of the unit proper, allows a significant lowering of the power consumption for waste recycling, thus making the process practically power-independent, and, in addition, simultaneously organizing production of power and liquid fuel.

Fig. 2. Plasma torch in the process of equipment adjustment

Fig. 3. Experimental equipment for plasma processing of carbon containing liquids

Different organic wastes can be proposed as an object for processing, including highly toxic and hazardous: medicinal wastes (syringes, gloves, dressing material, organic wastes, etc.), pesticides and chemical weed killers, used plastic cups and containers, car tires, wood chips, and other domestic and industrial wastes. 4. ELECTRIC ARC PLASMA PROCESSING OF LIQUID WASTES As it was mentioned above one more case of the vapour-plasma process for recycling liquid wastes is based on pumping of water-organic suspension through a discharge of electric-arc plasma. The electrodes between which the arc discharge burns, are inside the reactor, i.e. it are immersed into liquid. The molecules of the liquid and organics dissociate (decompose) to atoms, mainly consisting of the hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and other possible impurities (depends on the initial composition) in the arc. Electric current ionizes individual atoms into an ionized state and plasma of relatively high temperature forms. The flow of water-organic suspension through the arc leads to chemical reactions. Naturally, in addition to synthesis gas such processing leads to formation of water vapour, which may be

utilized into heat and electrical energy, with production of distilled water. The fundamentals of this process were developed by R M Santili in 1978 [14]. Long before that time the welders had noticed that the gas which rises to the surface of water in the bubbles in underwater welding burns readily. The technological fundamentals of burning of stationary electric-arc plasma in a transverse liquid flow were developed by V I Nosulenko for dimensional processing of parts as far back as in the 60th (see review [15]). The composition of the produced gas studied in detail by R M Santili [14], was as follows: H 2 40-45%, CO 55-60%, CO2 1-2%. It depends on the liquid used for its generation. Liquid wastes were used as raw materials (wastes of all types of oil, antifreeze, solvents, oil-slime, wastes of vegetable oils, wastes of milk processing industry, fat emulsions and sewage of meat-processing enterprises, sugar-refineries, liquid wastes of large cattle-breeding complexes, including pig-raising complexes, water suspensions from sedimentation tanks, liquid filtrates from dumps, etc.). The testing of such synthetic gas as a gaseous fuel for cars showed that it is significantly superior to petrol and methane as to ecological purity (as to content of hydrocarbons, carbon oxide and dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, etc. in exhaust gases). One liter of petrol is the equivalent of 1.0 1.3 nm 3 of such synthetic gas (depending on the raw material composition). A modular-type reactor (PLASER 201unit) of 50 100 150 kW power is developed for processing water organiccontaining suspensions with generation of synthesis gas of improved properties. Such unit may processing 28 liters of liquid organic-containing (carbon-containing) suspensions and produces 28 nm 3 of synthetic gas at 100 kW power. One normal cubic meter of the produced synthetic fuel contains about 7382 kcal. One liter of petrol contains about 8858 kcal. Therefore, petrol equivalent (in liters) of the combustible gas is equal to 8858/7382 = 1.2 m 3/l. Therefore, operating at 1200 kW, the recycling unit can produce, in 5 working days, running 24 h per day, 5 x 24 x 28 = 3360 nm 3 of nonpolluting combustible gas or 2800 liters in petrol equivalent. CONCLUSION E O Paton Electric Welding Institute NASU and the Gas Institute NASU performed the construction of an experimental set up for the realization of the electric arc technologies for solid and liquid wastes processing. The testing of it will be on summer and autumn 2008. REFERENCES [1] Wastes of health care institutions: current status of the problem and its solutions , Ed. L.P.Zueva, SPb, 2003. 43 p. [in Russian]. [2] S K Nema and K S Ganeshprasad, Plasma pyrolysis of medical waste, Current Science, V. 83, p. 271 278, 2002. [3] Ph G Rutberg, Plasma pyrolysis of toxic waste, Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, V.45, p. 957 969, 2003. [4] V A Zhovtyansky, Electric arc the basis of industry heat engineering applications of plasma, Prom. Teplotekhnika, V. 29, N4, p. 13 22, 2007. [5] G K Voronovs'ky, S P Denysyuk, OV Kyrylenko, et a/., Energetics of World and Ukraine. Figures and Facts , Ukr. Entsikl. Znannya, Kyiv, 403 p., 2005 [in Ukrainian]. [6] H D Schilling, B Bonn and U Krauss, Coal Gasification, Verlag Glckauf GmbH, Essen, 175 p., 1981. [7] M F Zhukov, R A Kalinenko, A A Levitskii and L S Polak, Plasmochemical Reprocessing of Coal, Nauka, Moscow, 200 p., 1990, [in Russian]. [8] V A Zhovtyansky, A B Murphy, V M Patriyuk and Yu I Lelyuh, The diffusion processes and the role of demixing in arcs with copper electrodes, See this volume. 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"Cooperation for Waste Issues", Kharkiv, Ukraine, p. 193 198, 2006 [in Russian]. [13] ] V A Zhovtyansky, S V Petrov, V N Korzhyk and G S Marynsky, Application of electric arc plasma for conversion of carbon containing materials, Proc. of the Int. Conf. "Energoefficiency-2007", Kyiv, Ukraine, p. 49 51, 2007 [in Ukrainian]. [14] R M Santilli, Foundations of Hadronic Chemistry. With Applications to New Clean Energies and Fuels , BostonDordrecht-London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 431 ., 2001. [15] V I Nosulenko, P N Velyky, O F Sysa and O S Chumachenko, Combined processes of metall treating with using of electric arc discharge, Svarshchik, N 6, p. 35 47, 2001 [in Russian].