Patent ID: 6552295
Filing Date: 2003-04-22
Classification: H05H,Y10S

Abstract:
An apparatus for plasma disposal of hazardous waste, comprising:a containment chamber configured to volatilize hazardous waste material at sub-atmospheric pressure and to provide at a containment chamber outlet a pre-processed gas including hazardous waste reactants; and a plasma furnace comprising, an inlet coupled to the containment chamber outlet and configured to introduce at sub-atmospheric pressure the pre-processed gas into the plasma furnace, a plasma chamber including a plasma-forming region coupled to the inlet and in which a plasma-forming magnetic field is produced, said pre-processed gas passing without circumvention through the plasma-forming region, an rf power supply including an rf applicator configured to produce a plasma-forming magnetic field of sufficient inductive energy into said plasma-forming region such that said hazardous waste reactants during transit through the plasma-forming region are inductively coupled into a plasma having a plasma depth and are completely dissociated, a recombination region coupled to said plasma forming region in which the dissociated reactants recombine into recombination products upon exiting the plasma-forming region, and an outlet coupled to the recombination region and configured to remove the recombination products from the plasma furnace.