Plasmarok ™

What is Plasmarok®?

Plasmarok® is the fully vitrified, mechanically strong and environmentally stable product that is recovered from the Gasplasma® process.  Simply put, it's a material that has been reduced to glass by being subjected to extreme heat.

The UK Environment Agency said it "...is happy to class the material as having being fully recovered at the point where it leaves the plasma arc process and can be used as an aggregate."

Plasmarok® can be readily employed in a range of aggregate applications, including pipe bedding.  It has been tested to ensure its safety.

How's it made?

Plasmarok® is formed in the heart of the plasma converter where the intense heat (around 1500˚c) reduces the ash forming part of the Solid Refined Fuel (SRF) to a molten vitreous material resembling volcanic lava.

The particular technique employed for treating the molten stream exiting the plasma converter can be adjusted to suit the end-use application for the process. For example, the molten material can be rapidly cooled and granulated in a water bath to form a -10mm product that would be appropriate for use as a pipe bedding material.

Alternatively, casting the material into blocks and allowing it to cool more slowly produces a high strength product that may be used as a sub-base material for a high load bearing structure.

Uses for Plasmarok®

Plasmarok®'s unique combination of high mechanical strength and hardness, as well as extremely high resistance to chemical leaching make it perfect for use as a secondary aggregate material (material that's been used, then recycled and recovered) in road paving, pipe bedding or other markets.

Benefits of Plasmarok®

It's like basalt in nature and when cooled slowly produces a material whose strength and hardness may exceed that of granite.

The vitreous nature of the product means that any toxins present are strongly bound up within the glassy matrix, making the material more resistant to leaching even than many natural stone products.

Why Plasmarok® is safer than alternatives

Plasmarok® is better suited to a range of uses than residues generated in other thermal conversion processes, such as conventional incineration.

Incineration can result in bottom ash, which contains leachable levels of heavy metals meaning it is potentially toxic, or fly ash, which contains dioxins and is classed as hazardous waste under the European waste catalogue.

Other gasification and pyrolysis technologies generally produce solid char residues that contain high levels of char, tars and heavy metals that may also require disposal to hazardous landfill.

Environmental Benefits