PLASMA MELTING METHOD FOR PROCESSING MATERIAL TO BE PROCESSED, AND PLASMA MELTING FURNACE USED THEREFOR

Abstract

[Problem] The purpose of the present invention is to provide: a plasma melting method for performing, on a material to be processed such as incineration ash and general waste or industrial waste, a processing in which plasma is generated at a low voltage in the upper part of a furnace and the material to be processed is efficiently subjected to a melt-processing; and a plasma melting furnace used for the plasma melting method.

[Solution] This invention is characterized in that: a coke layer is first laid on the furnace bottom of a plasma electric melting furnace in which a metal layer is placed on the furnace bottom and in which a plurality of electrodes can be moved vertically by an electrode raising/lowering device, and some of a material to be processed that is at least one among general waste, industrial waste, and incineration ash is charged onto the coke layer; the lower ends of the electrodes are positioned near the furnace bottom and the passage of current is commenced at a low voltage; the lower ends of the electrodes are raised while the passage of current is stable; the material to be processed is subjected to an additional charge; plasma is generated at the lower part of the electrodes at an operation voltage obtained by raising the voltage to a high voltage from the low voltage applied during the stable passage of current; and the material to be processed is subjected to a melt-processing.

Claims

1: A plasma melting method for processing a material to be processed, characterized by comprising: providing a plasma electric melting furnace having a metal layer disposed at the bottom of the furnace and a plurality of electrodes vertically movable by an electrode elevator; initially placing a coke layer at the bottom of the furnace; charging part of a material to be processed that is at least one of a general waste, an industrial waste and an incinerating ash, over the coke layer; initiating power supply at a low voltage with lower ends of the electrodes positioned near the bottom of the furnace; lifting upwards the lower ends of the electrodes while the power is stabilized; charging an additional amount of the material to be processed; and applying an operational voltage higher than the low voltage applied during the stable power supply to cause plasma generation below the electrodes and to thereby melt-process the material to be processed.

2: The plasma melting method for processing a material to be processed according to claim 1, characterized in that the low voltage applied during the stable power supply is 70 V and the operational voltage is in a range of 100 to 200 V.

3: The plasma melting method for processing a material to be processed according to claim 1, characterized in that a manganese ion source is added to the material to be processed that is charged during application of the operational voltage.

4: A plasma electric melting furnace for processing a material to be processed, characterized by comprising: a metal layer disposed at a bottom of the furnace; a plurality of graphite electrodes vertically movable by an electrode elevator; a power source; and an electrode power controller in electrical communication with the power source to control the current and voltage of the power supplied to the plurality of the graphite electrodes.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing one embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a drawing showing one embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a drawing showing one embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a plasma electric melting furnace 1 in accordance with the present invention for processing materials to be processed, such as general wastes, industrial wastes and incineration ashes.

[0021] The plasma electric melting furnace 1 includes a metal layer 2 disposed at the bottom of the furnace. Also arranged in the plasma electric melting furnace 1 are a plurality of graphite electrodes 3 that are vertically movable by an electrode elevator 4. Electric power is supplied to the graphite electrodes 3 via clamps 7 with the electric current and voltage being controlled by a power controller 6.

[0022] In a typical electric furnace, submerged arc plasma is generated at the bottom of the furnace. The plasma generated at the bottom of the furnace can damage the furnace bottom and is thus undesirable. High-voltage operation will be required in order for the plasma to reach to the top portion of the furnace. Such high-voltage operation, however, agitates the incineration ash in the furnace and causes the ash to emit undesired dust and gaseous components that diffuse out from the furnace to contaminate work environments. According to the present invention, the power is stabilized at a low voltage to minimize the plasma generation at the bottom of the furnace. When the power was stabilized, the voltage was increased to an operational voltage. In this manner, a plasma zone was formed below the tips of the electrodes without agitating the incinerator ash.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the state of the plasma electric melting furnace 1 before the power is stabilized. Here, the distance between the lower ends of the plurality of graphite electrodes 3 and the metal layer 2 was 10 cm. A coke layer 8 was overlaid on top of the metal layer 2. 100 kg of a material to be processed 9, which was at least one of general wastes, industrial wastes and incinerator ashes, was then charged onto the coke layer 8. A 70-V stabilized power voltage was applied, but no plasma generation was observed at the bottom of the furnace. The composition of the material to be processed 9 was as follows: 23% CaO; 27% SiO.sub.2; 14% Al.sub.2O.sub.3; 6% Fe.sub.2O.sub.3; and 1.1% Cl. Power was applied starting after 20 min at which time an additional amount of the material to be processed 9 was charged.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the state in which the operational voltage is applied following the stable power phase. Once the power had been stabilized, the distance between the lower ends of the plurality of graphite electrodes 3 and the metal layer 2 was increased to 100 cm. Additional 300 kg of the material to be processed 9 were then charged. The operational voltage was increased then from the 70-V stabilized power voltage to 150 V. In this state, plasma 10 was generated at the lower ends of the plurality of the graphite electrodes 3. Since the operational voltage was kept as low as 150 V, the plasma generation was associated with minimized agitation of the material to be processed 9.

[0025] During the operation under the operational voltage, 50 kg of manganese slug was charged when necessary. Charging a manganese ion source, such as Mn ore and ferromanganese slug, allows generation of permanent plasma in the upper portion of the furnace. In addition, 200 kg of the material to be processed 9, 70 kg of silica sand, and 35 kg of manganese slug were charged and the operation was continued. Plasma was generated throughout the furnace and the material to be processed was effectively melt-processed.

[0026] The applied voltage, power consumption, and presence or absence of plasma during the stable power phase and the operational voltage phases are shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Power consumption per ton of Plasma Voltage material generation Stable power 70 V 200 kWh/ton None phase Operational 150 V 900 kWh/ton Plasma phase, initial generated at stage lower ends of electrodes Operational 150 V 850 kWh/ton Plasma phase, stable generated stage throughout the furnace

[0027] According to the plasma melting method of the present invention for processing a material to be processed, a stable plasma atmosphere at a temperature of 1500 C. or higher can be achieved during operation. This provides fast melting and volume reduction of the incineration ash and also helps make the incineration ash harmless during the melt-processing of incineration ashes.

[0028] In addition to the materials to be processed, such as general wastes, industrial wastes and incineration ashes, other materials were processed by the method of the present invention. Specifically, similar procedures were conducted by charging, instead of the material to be processed, briquettes obtained for example by dispersing polychlorinated biphenyl and a surfactant in an inorganic powder by sonication. As a result, the briquettes dissolved quickly and the resulting emission met the environmental standards. This demonstrates that the furnace of the present invention can also serve as a safe furnace for decomposing PCV.

[0029] It is speculated that in the future, the plasma melting method of the present invention for processing a material to be processed is used to melt the low level radioactive wastes. The molten product is then vitrified by encapsulating in a slug.

[0030] As set forth, according to the plasma melting method of the present invention for processing a material to be processed and the plasma electric melting furnace, the voltage applied to the electrodes positioned near the bottom of the furnace during the stable power phase is sufficiently low to prevent the generation of submerged plasma, which would otherwise damage the bottom of the furnace. Subsequently, the electrodes are lifted upwards such that stable plasma is generated at the lower ends of the electrodes upon application of the operational voltage. This enables effective melt-processing of the materials to be processed.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0031] 1: plasma electric melting furnace [0032] 2: metal layer [0033] 3: graphite electrode [0034] 4: electrode elevator [0035] 5: power source [0036] 6: power controller [0037] 7: clamp [0038] 8: coke [0039] 9: incineration ash [0040] 10: plasma