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Georgia Tech Research Corporation

Louis J Circeo

Salvador L Camacho

Kevin C Caravati

Michael S Smith

Robert C Martin, Jr

Systems and methods of integrating plasma waste processing are described. An integreted energy generation system provided with a fossil fuel power plant system having a combustion chamber and a plasma waste processing system having an output. The integrated energy generation system also including an integrator for combining the output of thermal energy from the plasma waste processing system with the combustion chamber of the fossil fuel power plant.

Systems and methods for integrated plasma processing of waste

A plasma arc torch heat based apparatus and method converts a quantity of particulate soil having a first set of engineering properties into a selected number of smaller quantities each having improved engineering properties differing from the first set of engineering properties and makes practical utilization of the smaller quantities for applications in which the first set of engineering properties were not suited. The apparatus includes a rotatable kiln which is positionable at an angle to horizontal such that soil is received in an upper end and discharged at a lower end thereof. The kiln is heated to a controlled temperature based on the properties of the soil before treatment and the desired improved properties after treatment to meet application requirements.

Thermal plasma conversion of local soils into construction materials

A method is disclosed in which a plasma arc torch is used to vitrify and remediate a site containing contaminated soils, resulting from a hazardous material deposit or spill, or contaminated buried objects. The contaminated earthen material or subterranean deposit is pyrolyzed, melted or solidified by the plasma torch which is energized at the bottom of a cased, vertical borehole, and then gradually raised to the surface. An array of boreholes, appropriately spaced, will remediate an entire mass of contaminated material. Similarly, buried objects such as metal drums containing contaminants and underground storage tanks may be selectively remediated at their specific buried depth. Similar use is made of the plasma torch in a second embodiment with the additional step of processing at selected underground locations in the borehole array to create a sealed horizontal layer, vertical cutoff walls or a sealed basin as a barrier against further leaching of contaminants into surrounding soil and groundwater. Gaseous by-products of the pyrolysis process are collected, treated and processed, as appropriate.

In-situ remediation and vitrification of contaminated soils, deposits

The process of the present invention serves to remediate and reduce the volume of waste materials in a landfill site and increases the useful life of the treated landfill. The process steps involve drilling a series of holes into the waste material mass at proper spacing, inserting and operating a plasma arc torch in each drilled hole to pyrolize, remediate and vitrify the waste materials and allowing the melted materials to cool and harden. During the process, a gaseous by-product is produced and collected in a hood which is attached to scrubbing and chemical cleaning apparatus. The resultant gases are commercially useful as fuel gas and the vitrified residue is significantly smaller in volume than the original waste material volume, thus substantially extending the useful life of the landfill site and ultimately providing a firm foundation for construction.

In-situ landfill pyrolysis, remediation and vitrification

A method and apparatus for in-situ solidifying and stabilizing a mass of unstable foundation soil utilizes a plasma arc torch. The torch is inserted into a drilled and cased hole to a selected depth in a subterranean unstable soil layer and the torch is energized. The intense heat generated by the torch melts the soil material close to the hole and forms a pool of melt while more remote sections are baked to a brick-like consistency or dried and strengthened. Upon cooling, the central melted soil material cools to a hard, vitrified column with physical properties equivalent to a hard, dense rock. Variations of the method apply to a variety of construction support problems and landslide remediation problems.

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Atlanta, GA, United States of America

Louis J Circeo