Progress in Plasma Processing of Materials, 1997

ISBN Print: 1-56700-093-2

Development and First Results of an Immersed Plasma Arc Heater for Environmentally Compatible Processing

DOI: 10.1615/ITPPC-1996.570
pages 485-491

Abstract

An immersed plasma arc heater was developed fulfilling the constructive objectives: i) no cooling devices immersed in the melt ii) free positioning of the immersed arc iii) arc length independent from electrode position. The process has been successfully tested both on a laboratory (10 kg melt) and technological scale (400 kg melt) for melting and heating metal melts and other electrical conductive materials. The technological plant is designed for melts up to 4 t and an electric power consumption of 600 kW. On laboratory scale (10kW) preliminary investigations on recovering aluminium have been performed.