Diagnostics for a waste processing plasma arc furnace (invited) (abstract)

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Review of Scientific Instruments; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1146190· OSTI ID:6699740

Woskov, P P ^[1]

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1. Plasma Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

Maintaining the quality of our environment has become an important goal of society. As part of this goal new technologies are being sought to clean up hazardous waste sites and to treat ongoing waste streams. A 1 MW pilot scale dc graphite electrode plasma arc furnace (Mark II) has been constructed at MIT under a joint program among Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL), MIT, and Electro-Pyrolysis, Inc. (EPI)[sup c] for the remediation of buried wastes in the DOE complex. A key part of this program is the development of new and improved diagnostics to study, monitor, and control the entire waste remediation process for the optimization of this technology and to safeguard the environment. Continuous, real time diagnostics are needed for a variety of the waste process parameters. These parameters include internal furnace temperatures, slag fill levels, trace metals content in the off-gas stream, off-gas molecular content, feed and slag characterization, and off-gas particulate size, density, and velocity distributions. Diagnostics are currently being tested at MIT for the first three parameters. An active millimeter-wave radiometer with a novel, rotatable graphite waveguide/mirror antenna system has been implemented on Mark II for the measurement of surface emission and emissivity which can be used to determine internal furnace temperatures and fill levels. A microwave torch plasma is being evaluated for use as a excitation source in the furnace off-gas stream for continuous atomic emission spectroscopy of trace metals. These diagnostics should find applicability not only to waste remediation, but also to other high temperature processes such as incinerators, power plants, and steel plants.

• OSTI ID: 6699740
• Journal Information: Review of Scientific Instruments; (United States), Journal Name: Review of Scientific Instruments; (United States) Vol. 66:1; ISSN 0034-6748; ISSN RSINAK
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540200 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- (1990-)
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700320* -- Plasma Diagnostic Techniques & Instrumentation-- (1992-)
ARC FURNACES
ELECTRIC FURNACES
EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
FURNACES
MANAGEMENT
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
OPTIMIZATION
PILOT PLANTS
PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS
PROCESSING
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIOMETERS
SOLID WASTES
SPECTROSCOPY
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES