Treatment of hazardous organic wastes using silent discharge plasmas

Conference · Tue Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:10108020

Rosocha, L A; Anderson, G K; Bechtold, L A; Coogan, J J; Heck, H G; Kang, M; McCulla, W H; Tennant, R A; Wantuck, P J

During the past two decades, interest in applying non-equilibrium plasmas to the removal of hazardous chemicals from gaseous media has been growing, in particular from heightened concerns over the pollution of our environment and a growing body of environmental regulations. At the Los Alamos National Laboratory, we are currently engaged in a project to develop non-equilibrium plasma technology for hazardous waste treatment. Our present focus is on dielectric-barrier discharges, which are historically called silent electrical discharges. This type of plasma is also named a silent discharge plasma (SDP). We have chosen this method due to its potential for high energy efficiency, its scientific and technological maturity, and its scalability. The SDP process has been demonstrated to be reliable and economical for the industrial-scale synthesis of ozone, where municipal water treatment plants frequently require the on-site generation of thousands of kilograins per day (Eliasson & Kogelschatz). The related methods of corona processing are presently the focus of work at other institutions, particularly for flue gas processing. Both SDP and corona processes are characterized by the production of large quantities of highly reactive free radicals, especially atomic oxygen O(3P) and the hydroxyl OH, in the gaseous medium and their subsequent reaction with contaminants. Our primary objective is to convert hazardous or toxic chemicals into non-hazardous compounds or into materials which are more amenable to treatment. In the ideal case, the hazardous wastes are destructively oxidized to simpler, non-hazardous compounds plus CO2 and H2O. Sometimes the reaction products are still potentially hazardous, but are easily treated by conventional methods to yield non-hazardous products.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 10108020
• Report Number(s): LA-UR--92-3554; CONF-920967--1; ON: DE93003789
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320305
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120
CARBON DIOXIDE
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
CHEMICALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT
CORONA DISCHARGES
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
GAS ANALYSIS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
INDUSTRIAL WASTE MANAGEMENT
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
ORGANIC WASTES
PLASMA
POLLUTION CONTROL
RADICALS
REMOVAL
USES
WASTE PROCESSING
WATER