Microwave plasma is hot stuff for high-temp work
29 Mar 2000
A new plasma heater could help boost the performance of incinerators and be a valuable tool for high-temperature research, according to its developers at EA Technology. Working at atmospheric pressure, the device can heat gas streams to around 2000 degrees C almost instantaneously.
Instead of the conventional heating elements used to generate high temperatures, which tend to be inefficient, the EA Technology device uses direct coupling of microwave energy to create a high-temperature, homogeneous plasma. This is normally contained in a silica vessel where there are no electrodes present.
The process is suitable for heating a wide range of gases and gas mixtures, says Danny Connaughton, who heads EA's surface engineering group. `We envisage it being used, for example, as a pre-heater to incinerators, boosting their performance and/or enhancing their ability to destroy hazardous materials where extremely high temperatures are required,' he says. `It is also ideal for laboratory simulation of high temperature industrial processes.' For example, it would be ideal for achieving the reaction temperatures needed in processes involving corrosive gases like chlorine, while avoiding the generation of unwanted products at lower temperatures while the gas stream heats up.
The technique can be used in a wide variety of operations, including continuous high-throughput processes. Capital and operating costs are low, and the equipment is compact, clean and environmentally-friendly, says Connaughton.
