Application of thermal plasma technology for the treatment of solid wastes in China: An overview

With its enormous social and economical development, China is now experiencing a rapid increase in solid wastes generation and growing pressure for solid wastes management. Today solid wastes in China are mainly managed by a combination of landfill, incineration, and composting. Within different possible treatment routes, thermal plasma technology (TPT) offers the advantages of efficiently gasifying the organic contents of solid wastes into syngas that can be used for heat and power generation, and vitrifying the inorganics simultaneously into glassy slag with very low leachabilities. This process makes it feasible for near-zero emission into the environment while making use of all the useful components. Encouraged by the industrial operations of solid wastes treatment plants using TPT in some countries, several plasma demonstration projects have already been undertaken in China. This paper provides a preliminary overview of the current laboratory researches and industrial developments status of TPT for the treatment of solid wastes in China and analyzes the existing challenges. Furthermore, the future prospects for TPT in China are also discussed.