Research of operation features of electrode units of high-voltage plasma generators of alternating current, definition of the criteria influencing the electrode lifetime at plasma generator operation on steam

At a modern level of industrial development the problem of waste processing has assumed a new significance. New laws and more strict standards are imposed every year in the majority of countries. Large industrial companies and municipal structures in this situation are forced to invest significant founds in waste destruction. Each year the creation of environmentally friendly technologies of waste treatment gets the increasing investment appeal. Plasmachemical technology is the most perspective technology of waste recycling. It is based on high-temperature plasmachemical action and complete decomposition of utilized products by means of arc plasma with useful product (synthesis-gas) production, which is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon oxide and is a valuable power raw material. One of the requirements to electric arc plasma generators working in plasmachemical installations is a long lifetime of continuous operation. First of all time of continuous operation of the plasma generator is determined by lifetime of its electrode unit. Now it is perspective to use steam as a plasmaforming environment. The idea of steam use as a working body is often put forward as one of alternatives to air plasma. Water has high heat of steam formation successfully combining properties of plasmaforming substance and cooling heat-carrier. Steam is an ideal plasmaforming environment. It is ecological, explosion-proof and available working substance favorably influencing on the ecological conditions in examined gasification processes.The paper depicts the investigation results carried out at development of plasma generators using steam as a plasmaforming environment. Modern methods of manufacturing of electrode materials allow creation of composite materials of complex composition by introduction of more refractory material in a copper matrix. The noticeable increase in life time and decrease in the specific flow rate (wear) of electrode material gives prospect in the further researches and development of new kinds of materials, that at steam application as a working body creates a wide spectrum of use of these high-voltage plasma generators at gasification and pyrolysis plants.