Direct Current (DC) Plasma

Spang Power Electronics is a manufacturer of custom power equipment installed throughout the direct current (dc) plasma industry for plasma gasification, metal melting, waste remediation, tundish heating, thermal spray coating, and research & development. A dc plasma arc operates on principles similar to an arc-welding machine, where an electrical arc is struck between two electrodes. The high-energy arc creates high temperatures up to many thousand degrees Celsius where the “plasma” is highly ionized gas.

Spang Power Electronics provides both SCR and IGBT based Power Systems configured as direct current plasma rectifiers. These are available in six (6) pulse, twelve (12) pulse, DC chopper, and switch mode power supply (SMPS) configurations with precise digital current control, ripple filtering, and network communications for dc plasma applications. Spang’s expertise in power control and conversion has helped us become a global leader for the supply of dc plasma rectifiers for the following applications.

Plasma Arc Melters

The plasma arc melter uses carbon electrodes to strike an arc in a bath of molten slag. The consumable carbon electrodes are continuously inserted into the melt chamber, eliminating the need to shut down for electrode replacement of maintenance. The high temperatures produced by the arc convert the organic waste into light organics and primary elements. Combustible gas is cleaned in the off-gas system and the potential for air pollutions is low due to the use of electrical heating in the absence of free oxygen. Plasma arc melters are very robust and have very high destruction efficiency. They can treat waste with minimal or no pretreatment producing a stable waste form.

Transferred Plasma Arc Torch

A transferred plasma arc torch contains an internal electrode. A DC current between this electrode and the melt produces an ionized-gas plasma stream which generates a tremendous amount of localized heat. Transferred-arc torches can operate on any number of gases (argon, nitrogen, helium, hydrogen, air, etc.) to provide the flexibility needed in a number of processes such as continuous metal casting, tundish heating, ash melting, and waste remediation.

Non-Transferred Plasma Arc Torch

A non-transferred plasma arc torch contains two electrodes, (front and rear). A DC current between these electrodes creates an ionized-gas plasma stream which is constrained to the end of the torch. The heat generated from this is more dispersed compared heat generated from a transferred arc plasma torch suiting the non-transferred design for a wide range of applications.