SUSPLASM

Problem statement

Flanders is strong in bio-based sectors (agri, food, others) but along the bio-based value chain that runs from production to post-consumer waste processing, there is a wide range of challenging waste streams that defy simple and economic processing. More precisely, mixed waste containing a combination of organic bio-based materials with synthetic materials is proving to be increasingly problematic. The best available techniques for such problematic mixed organic-synthetic waste are incineration or landfill, which has strong negative environmental impact and is associated with high greenhouse gases emission. In the context of SUSPLASM, the consortium will investigate the (i) technical, (ii) economic, (iii) energetic and (iv) environmental characteristics of waste processing based on thermal plasma for 4 different waste streams in small-scale practical tests of  targeted waste streams: a. sewage sludge, b. PFAS contaminated organic sludge and sediment, c. mixed waste of plastic binders, d. problematic mixed organic-synthetic municipal waste. In SUSPLASM, thermal plasma treatment of waste will be further developed as a key-enabling technology which converts difficult waste streams  into syngas and non-leachable slag for various applications (such as hydrogen production and recovery of phosphorus) ). In addition to benchmarking over indicated dimensions (i-iv) for syngas produced from these waste materials, the consortium will also develop the design & built blueprint for a small-scale thermal plasma platform in Flanders . This will herald the start of a broader platform across universities for joint activities on plasma science, thermal chemistry, waste economy and serve as an access point for the companies to enter the field of thermal prossessing. The project will position Flanders as a front-running region in green technology of high potential towards climate change abatement and circular economy. 

Plasma gasification 

Plasma gasification of organic waste streams is an endothermic process where the essential energy for the process is supplied by electricity (electrification of the gasification process); plasma torches convert electrical energy into thermal energy without direct CO₂ emissions. 

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of plasma-based waste processing

Technologies for the treatment of various types of waste mainly include incineration technologies, where energy from waste is preferred. However, during incineration, the organic matter of the waste is burned, releasing enormous amount of CO₂ and heat that can be converted to electricity in a steam cycle with limited efficiency (usually less than 20%). On the other hand, in plasma gasification, the energy required to drive the gasification process (or pyrolysis process) is provided by an external source (electricity); this allows the waste to be completely converted into syngas. If the electricity is generated from renewable sources, there are no CO₂ emissions associated with it. With CO₂ used as a gasification agent, the process can even become carbon negative. In addition, in the plasma treatment the syngas produced is tar-free and the inorganic part of the waste can be converted in a solidified, non-leachable slag  with a considerably smaller. Within the framework of SUSPLASM, attention will be paid to recovery of valuable minerals prior to the plasma gasification process for which several strategies will be explored. 

An important aspect of plasma technology is its potential to be used as a means of storing electricity from the distribution grid in the form of chemical energy of syngas or derived chemicals in the power-to-X concept. Since the operational power range of plasma torches is very flexible it can very quickly adjust its consumption of electricity according to the situation in the distribution grid. The project interacts – as an integral part from during the application development – with wastestream (problem) owners. Amongst others, growers and industrial partners involved in intensive greenhouse cropping as well as the intermunicipal association IVLA (and other waste collectors) as first contact end-users of technology and/or suppliers of biomass. In any case they provide us with the more ‘up-stream’ part of the stakeholder chain : the ones ‘owning’ the problem and the biomass. Thermal plasma technology allows the sustainable processing and valorization of challenging waste with zero or even negative CO2 footprint and recovery of minerals while storing electricity in the form of chemical energy of tar-free syngas or derived chemicals.

Consortium

Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, UGent

Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), UGent

Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – ANTwerp (PLASMANT), UAntwerp

Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP), Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague