As mentioned earlier in this blog, PEAT advancing a project for a client in China to treat refinery sludge and petrochemical waste. The system construction is finished and the system is currently en route to China. This plasma gasification system is expected to be commissioned during the later part of July.

Unlike incineration, where combustion gases are treated at atmospheric pressure, the volume of syngas that is generated in a plasma gasification system is significantly reduced. The smaller flue gas volumes also bring benefits in terms of the scale of downstream air pollution control equipment.

Here is a representative syngas composition, composition and heat value for processing 500 lbs/hr of petroleum sludge and fluxing agents with the following chemical composition (Carbon: 30.85%, Hydrogen: 3.18%, Chlorine: 0.65%, Oxygen: 0.41%, Sulfur 0.31%, water 23.82%, metals 0.17%, inorganics 40.54%) in a plasma thermal destruction and recovery system.

The syngas generated from a plasma gasification system could be converted into a variety of different fuels such as ethanol, natural gas (methane) and hydrogen or can be used to generate electricity directly similar to gasification. Some companies are trialing systems for upgrading syngas from their plasma gasification processes to be used as a chemical feedstock for products such as hydrogen recovery. However, the commercial status of such projects indicates that these are still in the development stage.