Conversion of light hydrocarbon gases to metal carbides for production of liquid fuels and chemicals. Quarterly technical status report, July 1--September 30, 1993
The construction of the thermal plasma reactor is nearing completion. During the reporting period, work has concentrated on the design and construction of the plasma reactor and on procurement of related accessories for process monitoring and safety. With the plasma gun system mounted in the cooling chamber assembly inside the fragmentation containment room and with the cooling water system in place, a test-firing of the arc discharge with Argon was conducted in late September. This test, unfortunately, resulted in burn-out of some parts of the plasma gun apparently due to arcing outside of the inter-electrode region, setting back the projected date for completing apparatus construction. Options for a powder feeder investigated include scale-up of a home-made fluidized bed syringe feeder, used at MIT for delivering coal to a drop-tube furnace, and the employment of a mechanical wheel-type feeder sold by Miller Thermal, Inc., of Appleton, WI, which gave a promising demonstration run at MIT. The idea of using an Argon plasma as a heat source in carrying out mechanistic studies was also considered. Thus, the plasma reactor, once completed, might be useful for this purpose as well. Future plans are to rebuild the plasma gun, to assemble a sample collection system, and to continue installing safety and process monitoring equipment. The goals for the next period are to test-fire the gun successfully with Argon, to complete and test the sample collection system with an operating inert gas plasma, and then to perform a scoping run with methane and MgO/CaO powders delivered to the plasma.
- Research Organization:
- Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC22-92PC92111
- OSTI ID:
- 10133853
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/PC/92111--T4; ON: DE94008384; IN: FE-MIT-92111-4
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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