Products and Technologies
High temperatures without fossil fuels
Arc-heated plasma torches reach the temperatures required for glass, cement and metallurgy – powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels.
Challenges of high-temperature processes
The transition of industry to climate-neutral process heat is one of the major challenges of the energy transition. Numerous industrial processes – from melting glass and manufacturing cement to metallurgy – require consistently very high temperatures. Until now, almost exclusively fossil fuels have been used for high-temperature processes such as cement production or glass melting, as their high energy density makes them particularly well suited to these applications.
This is precisely where the problem lies: these fossil-fuel-fired processes are responsible for a significant proportion of industrial CO₂ emissions and are difficult to decarbonise. Glass-melting processes operate at 1,450 °C to 1,650 °C, while the cement clinker process reaches temperatures of around 900 °C – temperatures that are difficult to achieve economically using simple electric heating methods. Solutions are therefore needed that deliver the same high temperatures and power densities as a gas burner, but operate using electricity and are therefore potentially climate-neutral. The burners can also be used when a temperature increase is required, for example from 900 °C to 1,300 °C.
Industries
High-temperature processes
Electrify high-temperature processes
PlasmaAir AG electrifies high-temperature processes with thermal, arc-heated plasma torches. Electrical energy is coupled into a working gas via an electric arc; the plasma core reaches temperatures of up to 15,000 °C, while the average gas temperature ranges from 1,500 °C to 5,000 °C. This readily achieves the temperatures required for glass, cement and metallurgy, offering an electricity-based alternative to neutral gas burners.
The torches operate with a wide range of working gases (Ar, N₂, air, steam, CO₂, H₂, CH₄, NH₃) and can be flexibly adapted to process requirements. Carbon dioxide can, for example, be used as a plasma gas and heat-transfer medium; circulating the heat-transfer medium makes it possible to run the process in a closed loop and achieve CO₂ neutrality—an alternative for applications such as pyrolysis or cement production.
As with all PlasmaAir solutions, customers receive a complete system: PlasmaAir supplies turnkey plasma systems, including the necessary accessories such as power supply and process control. The plasma sources themselves can be individually adapted for installation on or inside reactors. Systems are currently available with outputs of up to 150 kW per turnkey unit, with higher outputs in development.
Applications
Heating glass melts
-
Cement production
-
Metallurgy & metal smelting
-
Sintering processes
-
CO₂-neutral process operation with a heat transfer fluid circuit
-
Electric ignition of power station burners
-
Products and Technologies
Climate-neutral process heat without fossil fuels
Arc-heated plasma torches reach the temperatures required for glass, cement and metallurgy – powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels.
Industries
High-temperature processes
Challenges of high-temperature processes
The transition of industry to climate-neutral process heat is one of the major challenges of the energy transition. Numerous industrial processes – from melting glass and manufacturing cement to metallurgy – require consistently very high temperatures. Until now, almost exclusively fossil fuels have been used for high-temperature processes such as cement production or glass melting, as their high energy density makes them particularly well suited to these applications.
This is precisely where the problem lies: these fossil-fuel-fired processes are responsible for a significant proportion of industrial CO₂ emissions and are difficult to decarbonise. Glass-melting processes operate at 1,450 °C to 1,650 °C, while the cement clinker process reaches temperatures of around 900 °C – temperatures that are difficult to achieve economically using simple electric heating methods. Solutions are therefore needed that deliver the same high temperatures and power densities as a gas burner, but operate using electricity and are therefore potentially climate-neutral. The burners can also be used when a temperature increase is required, for example from 900 °C to 1,300 °C.
Electrify high-temperature processes
PlasmaAir AG electrifies high-temperature processes using thermal, arc-heated plasma torches. Electrical energy is coupled into a process gas via an electric arc; the plasma core reaches temperatures of up to 15,000 °C, while the average gas temperature is between 1,500 °C and 5,000 °C. This readily achieves the temperature levels required for glass, cement and metallurgy, providing an electricity-based alternative to gas burners.
The torches operate with a wide range of process gases (Ar, N₂, air, steam, CO₂, H₂, CH₄, NH₃) and can be flexibly adapted to the process requirements. For example, carbon dioxide can be used as a heat-transfer medium when used as a plasma gas; circulating the heat-transfer medium allows the process to be operated as a closed, CO₂-neutral system—an alternative for applications such as pyrolysis or cement production.
As with all PlasmaAir solutions, customers receive a complete system: PlasmaAir offers turnkey plasma systems, including the necessary accessories such as power supply and process control; the sources themselves can be individually adapted for installation on or inside reactors. Systems currently offer outputs of up to 150 kW per turnkey system, with higher outputs in development.
Applications
Heating glass melts
-
Cement production
-
Metallurgy & metal smelting
-
Sintering processes
-
CO₂-neutral process operation with a heat transfer fluid circuit
-
Electric ignition of power station burners
-
PlasmaAir AG
Am Lindenberg 8
71263 Weil der Stadt
PlasmaAir AG
Am Lindenberg 8
71263 Weil der Stadt
PlasmaAir AG
Am Lindenberg 8
71263 Weil der Stadt
Industries
High-temperature processes
Challenges of high-temperature processes
The transition of industry to climate-neutral process heat is one of the major challenges of the energy transition. Numerous industrial processes – from melting glass and manufacturing cement to metallurgy – require consistently very high temperatures. Until now, almost exclusively fossil fuels have been used for high-temperature processes such as cement production or glass melting, as their high energy density makes them particularly well suited to these applications.
This is precisely where the problem lies: these fossil-fuel-fired processes are responsible for a significant proportion of industrial CO₂ emissions and are difficult to decarbonise. Glass-melting processes operate at 1,450 °C to 1,650 °C, while the cement clinker process reaches temperatures of around 900 °C – temperatures that are difficult to achieve economically using simple electric heating methods. Solutions are therefore needed that deliver the same high temperatures and power densities as a gas burner, but operate using electricity and are therefore potentially climate-neutral. The burners can also be used when a temperature increase is required, for example from 900 °C to 1,300 °C.
Electrify high-temperature processes
PlasmaAir AG electrifies high-temperature processes with thermal, arc-heated plasma torches. Electrical energy is coupled into a working gas via an electric arc; the plasma core reaches temperatures of up to 15,000 °C, while the average gas temperature ranges from 1,500 °C to 5,000 °C. This readily achieves the temperatures required for glass, cement and metallurgy, offering an electricity-based alternative to neutral gas burners.
The torches operate with a wide range of working gases (Ar, N₂, air, steam, CO₂, H₂, CH₄, NH₃) and can be flexibly adapted to process requirements. Carbon dioxide can, for example, be used as a plasma gas and heat-transfer medium; circulating the heat-transfer medium makes it possible to run the process in a closed loop and achieve CO₂ neutrality—an alternative for applications such as pyrolysis or cement production.
As with all PlasmaAir solutions, customers receive a complete system: PlasmaAir supplies turnkey plasma systems, including the necessary accessories such as power supply and process control. The plasma sources themselves can be individually adapted for installation on or inside reactors. Systems are currently available with outputs of up to 150 kW per turnkey unit, with higher outputs in development.
Applications
Heating glass melts
-
Cement production
-
Metallurgy & metal smelting
-
Sintering processes
-
CO₂-neutral process operation with a heat transfer fluid circuit
-
Electric ignition of power station burners
-
Products and Technologies
High temperatures without fossil fuels
Arc-heated plasma torches reach the temperatures required for glass, cement and metallurgy – powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels.