Process Feasibility Study on Thermal-Plasma System for HFC-23 Decomposition

Abstract

A feasibility study on the use of a thermal plasma process for the destruction of HFC-23 is carried out in comparison with an incineration process. The material and energy balances for both processes are calculated using the commercial simulator, Pro/II (ver. 8.0). Based on the computational analysis, the volume of the plasma process and NOx and CO2 emissions in the plasma process are 25, 10 and 40% of those in the incineration process, respectively. Therefore, more compact units can be employed in the plasma process. However, the operating cost of the plasma process would be higher than that of the incineration process using LNG as a fuel.