Effect of DC steam plasma on gasifying carbonized waste

A feasibility study has been conducted to determine whether steam plasma can be used for the treatment of carbonized wastes, such as the carbide of the hazardous waste. The gasification which was often called “water gas reaction” was studied to reduce the volume and weight of wastes and to produce the combustible gas like hydrogen from them by using steam plasma. In this study, the thermal plasma generated by DC plasma was used as a heat source, where steam was added to react with carbon. Graphite was used as a test piece instead of carbonized wastes. The weight of the test piece was measured before and after treatment to decide the weight reduction during the experiment. The gas produced in the reaction was analyzed. The result indicated that it is possible to reduce the weight of graphite and to produce the combustible gas from graphite by using the DC steam plasma.