Light tar decomposition of product pyrolysis gas from sewage sludge in a gliding arc plasma reformer

Pyrolysis/gasification technology utilizes an energy conversion technique from various waste resources, such as biomass, solid waste, sewage sludge, and etc. to generating a syngas (synthesis gas). However, one of the major problems for the pyrolysis gasification is the presence of tar in the product gas. The tar produced might cause damages and operating problems on the facility. In this study, a gliding arc plasma reformer was developed to solve the previously acknowledged issues. An experiment was conducted using surrogate benzene and naphthalene, which are generated during the pyrolysis and/or gasification, as the representative tar substance. To identify the characteristics of the influential parameters of tar decomposition, tests were performed on the steam feed amount (steam/carbon ratio), input discharge power (specific energy input, SEI), total feed gas amount and the input tar concentration. In benzene, the optimal operating conditions of the gliding arc plasma 2 in steam to carbon (S/C) ratio, 0.98 kWh/m3 in SEI, 14 L/min in total gas feed rate and 3.6% in benzene concentration. In naphthalene, 2.5 in S/C ratio, 1 kWh/m3 in SEI, 18.4 L/min in total gas feed rate and 1% in naphthalene concentration. The benzene decomposition efficiency was 95%, and the energy efficiency was 120 g/kWh. The naphthalene decomposition efficiency was 79%, and the energy yield was 68 g/kWh. © The Korean Society of Environmental Engineers.