Title : Advances in plasma-based waste treatment for sustainable communities
Abstract:
This talk presents advanced approaches for plasma-based waste treatment. Different designs of plasma torches and generation systems are discussed, including RF, DC, and MW plasma, are analysed and developed for municipal solid waste, waste-to-energy, and radioactive waste treatment applications. Novel plasma torch design is proposed to support different scales and types of waste treatment. Process engineering techniques for gasification and pyrolysis process are integrated with the radioactive waste treatment process, which are illustrated with waste characterization. The proposed approaches showed reduced waste treatment costs, risks, volumes, in addition to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved lifecycle performance. Plasma systems are utilized for nuclear and municipal waste treatment with analysis of different waste categories and types. Process design is discussed for plasma torch that can reduce the volume and lifecycle cost of waste processing. Simulation methods and experimental setups demonstrate lab-scale process technologies for plasma-based waste treatment. Novel plasma torches and systems design will be presented including the design and engineering of high-efficiency Direct Current (DC) non-transferred, Radio Frequency Inductively Coupled (RF-ICP), and Microwave (MW) plasma torches. Smart Control Architectures will be presented based on fully automated and PLC-based control systems for plasma reactors featuring real-time plasma ignition detection, flow stabilization, and built-in safety shutdowns, making plasma treatment highly reliable and scalable for industry. AI-driven Digital Twin environment will be presented to replace manual trial-and-error engineering design approaches with an integrated optimization framework. By linking ANSYS, COMSOL, and Aspen Plus with a Genetic Algorithm (AI), the lab automates the design of plasma torches, balancing gas flow, power settings, and thermodynamics to discover the perfect, most energy-efficient setup. Sustainable Waste-to-Energy (WtE) systems will be illustrated with applications on MSW pyrolysis with a lab-scale plasma pyrolysis systems to convert Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) into clean, high-value syngas without generating harmful tar or liquid waste.
Integrated optimization framework will be presented utilizing Multiphysics simulations (ANSYS/COMSOL) combined with thermodynamic modeling (Aspen Plus) to maximize energy recovery and drastically reduce the specific energy consumption of WtE processes.
