INITIAL SITUATION
The chemical industry relies on carbon as a feedstock. Today, entrained-flow gasifiers powered primarily by heavy fuel oil provide the basis for numerous carbon-based products.
A straightforward way to reduce dependence on fossil fuels is to replace heavy fuel oil with pyrolysis oil produced from mixed plastic waste and biogenic residues. As this approach fits into existing production routes, it enables a swift transition to a circular carbon economy.
However, with the technologies currently available, this approach comes at a high cost: it generates significant CO₂ emissions, and up to 40% of the carbon used is lost.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
With SprayPlas, the Institute for Technical Chemistry at KIT (KIT-ITC) and PlasmaAir AG aim to contribute to the defossilisation of the chemical industry. The focus is on a gasification process that converts waste and residual materials into valuable feedstocks more efficiently and with lower emissions, paving the way for closed carbon cycles.
OUR SOLUTION
Together with KIT-ITC, we are developing a prototype plasma-assisted entrained-flow gasifier. The plant is operated and scientifically assessed at the Institute of Technical Chemistry.
This lays the foundations for more efficient value chains with lower emissions in the chemical industry, while advancing the industrial transformation towards a genuine circular carbon economy.
