Thermal plasmas: production

Overview

ABSTRACT

Thermal plasmas, at or at about atmospheric pressure, can be produced with powers ranging between a few hundred watts and just over a hundred megawatts. They span a wide range of applications: cutting or welding of metals, surface treatment and deposition, extractive metallurgy, melting-purification of metals, spheroidization and purification of particles, chemical analysis, heating of flow distributors, chemistry, synthesis of nanometric or ultrafine particles, machining of components, waste treatment.

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AUTHOR

Pierre FAUCHAIS: Professor - SPCTS (Science of Ceramic Processes and Surface Treatments) - CNRS Joint Unit 6638 - University of Limoges—Faculty of Science

INTRODUCTION

Thermal plasmas (see file ), at atmospheric pressure or close to it (i.e., 10 to 500 kPa), can be produced at powers ranging from a few hundred watts, for example for micro-cutting, to just over a hundred megawatts for direct current metallurgical furnaces. They therefore cover a very wide range of applications: cutting or welding metal parts, surface treatments and deposits, extractive metallurgy, metal remelting and purification, spheroidization and particle purification, chemical analysis, heating of casting distributors, chemistry, synthesis of nanometric or ultrafine powders, manufacture of shaped parts, and waste treatment.

In this presentation, we will describe the different types of torches used industrially in the applications mentioned.

For further information on thermal plasmas, and in particular on plasma theory, readers are invited to consult the following reference by the same author in this database : Thermal plasmas: fundamental aspects.