PROCESS AND INSTALLATION FOR THERMALLY DECOMPOSING ANY TYPE OF MATERIAL INTO ITS CONSTITUTIVE ELEMENTS, WITH ZERO EMISSIONS AND REDUCED ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION

摘要

The invention relates to a process and an installation for thermally decomposing any type of material, in particular waste of any kind, into its constitutive elements, without emission of toxic gases and with reduced electricity consumption. The claimed process is based on the principle of decomposing the materials in electrolytic plasma at temperatures ranging between 10000°C and 20000°C, the plasma being created between a negative electrode (the cathode) and the surface of an electrolyte (the anode), - in controlled atmosphere confined space, - the material to be decomposed being continuously brought into the plasma-generation zone where, due to the high temperature, it is decomposed into its constitutive elements which precipitate into the electrolyte as harmless atomic elements, wherefrom they are extracted, recovered and reused. The claimed installation comprises a tank () with an electrolyte () and a cover () with the role of sealing and electrically insulating, the decomposition of the materials being carried out due to the high temperature produced by the electrolytic plasma () generated by an electrode () connected to the cathode, which contains the waste, and an electrolyte () connected to the anode, the pressure in the decomposition chamber being maintained with an automatic system including a pressure gauge or pressure sensor (), a valve or an electrical valve () for emptying the chamber and a valve () for maintaining the level of the electrolyte (), the pressure, the level of the electrolyte (), the distance between the electrode () and the electrolyte (), the potential between the cathode and the anode, as well as the feed-rate of the electrode () being subjected to an active control, and the materials decomposed by the plasma being recovered from the electrolyte () by means of the valve ().