The plasma torch owes its high energy density, and therefore its effectiveness, to the generation inside of an electric arc between two electrodes; this, interacting with a suitable carrier gas, gives the gas particles very particular characteristics that make the "plasma" state a different kind of matter's state in itself.
The overall result is an extremely concentrated heat generation within the arc and the achievement of extreme temperatures, of the order even of 10,000 ° C. In waste management, the process temperatures inside the gasification reactor are around 5,000 - 6,000 ° C.
This technology can treat any waste: urban, hazardous and even small quantities of low radioactive waste. The main products are an extremely clean syngas compared to other types of gasification, the second is an inert glassy mass similar to obsidian.
The syngas produced by plasma gasification, given its qualities, can be easily recombined to obtain products including methanol or bio diesel or aircraft gasoline.
