A novel plasmatorch and its application in methods for conversion of matter

Abstract

The present invention relates to a novel plasmatorch (1) and to its applications within the field of chemicophysical conversion of matter. The plasmatorch (1) comprises a pair of electrodes apart from each other, a plasma arc (10) existing between the two electrodes and a collimator (14) arranged for converging the plasma arc (10). The arcing material is stored in a special storage tank and is realized by a metal vapour, preferably by the vapour of an alkali or an alkali-earth metal.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a novel plasma torch and its possible applications. Background technique [0002] In essence, plasma is the most common state of materials. The term "plasma" refers to an ionized gas in which most of the atoms have lost one or more electrons and thereby become positive ions. A plasma is actually a mixture of three components: positive ions, free electrons, and neutral atoms (or molecules). A plasma is a quasi-neutral medium in which the electron concentration and ion concentration are substantially equal. In a plasma, electronic forces between charged particles act, so it is a dynamic system influenced by electromagnetic forces. [0003] In fact, plasmas are present in various gas discharges (eg, sparks, lightning, arcs). Quasi-neutral and quasi-stationary plasma arcs at high temperatures are important from an industrial and scientific perspective, for example in metallurgy, vitrification processes, power generation...

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Problems solved by technology

In most cases, the products obtained are highly polluting, so their recycling or at least their disposal should be addressed, which also increases the operating costs of the plasma torches in question

For example, the widely used plasma torches using nitrogen or air as the discharge gas will produce a large amount of nitrogen-containing fumes (for example, NO X ) as a by-product, these fumes seriously pollute the environment and are harmful to health

Incorporating these materials into the slag and / or filtering them out through a gas cleaner / gas cleaner system did not give the desired results, and as a result, the NO X Emissions in excess of the limits established by environmental protection measures

[0007] Another problem when plasma torches are used for metallurgical purposes is that for a given plasma impact velocity and plasma volume, the amount of heat transferred to the target is very small due to the low specific gravity of the material used as the discharge gas

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