Plasma arc melters for conversion of waste to value-added products

Materials recovery facilities (MRFs) and waste-to-energy (WTE) systems are making significant contributions to reducing the need for landfill disposal by producing useful products. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects and costs when using plasma arc melters in the thermal treatment process. Plasma arc melters can decrease offgas volume, pyrolize organics, reduce equipment size, separate materials, and generate a homogeneous, stable, solid residue. However, they use electricity for power and may be more expensive to operate. The differences between plasma torch and arc melters is discussed and a typical melter system presented. Various recycling or product output options are discussed based on the composition of the input waste stream composition. An economic comparison between different systems includes both capital and operating costs.