Simulation Technique for Plasma Processing of Chemical Waste

74 Simulation Technique for Plasma Processing of Chemical Waste--Physical Sciences Inc., 20 New England Business Center, Andover, MA 01810-1022; (508) 689-0003 Dr. Harmut H. Legner, Principal Investigator Mr. George E. Caledonia, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-97ER82455 Amount: $74,973 The processing of chemical waste is an important technological problem for the Department of Energy with far-reaching environmental and economic benefits. In particular, thermal plasma processing is becoming an important method to treat chemical waste, as well as being a promising technique to induce high-temperature chemical reactions. However, the chemistry of this technique can be quite complex and accurate computational tools to evaluate these processes are currently unavailable. The focus of the project is the development of a simulation technique that leads to a thorough understanding of plasma chemical reactors. A novel computer code will be developed to improve this situation by combining two existing models into a new user friendly tool. In the Phase I effort, an initial version of the simulation code linking the aforementioned models will be developed. The combined model will enable the assessment of chemical kinetics for candidate waste constituents from the plasma discharge source to the processing zone. The operation of the code will be validated by comparing computations against available experimental data and analytical model results for a specific chemical waste system: hydrogen sulfide dissociation. The Phase II effort will focus upon the continued development of the simulation code including chemical reaction models for several waste systems of interest. Code comparisons with additional model validation experiments, using existing plasma sources, would also be undertaken. Commercial Applications and the Other Benefits as described by the awardee: A validated simulation code that includes all of the principal elements of thermal plasma-driven chemistry would be extremely useful in effectively and economically assessing chemical waste processing systems, and in designing experimental tests. In addition to waste reduction, the code could also be applied to reactive and non-reactive plasma spraying and plasma-based materials processing in the semiconductor and chemical industries. These constitute potentially large markets for code sales and licensing.