ELECTRIC-ARC PLASMA REACTORS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ACETYLENE FROM COAL

Plasma Furnace for the Production of Acetylene from Coal. At Huls AG in cooperation with DMT GmbH and sponsored by the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia a process for manufacturing acetylene via the pyrolysis of coal in an electric arc plasma reactor has been developed. At sufficiently high temperatures acetylene is the compound formed in preference to other hydrocarbons. The decomposition into C and H-2 in a consecutive reaction has to be avoided as far as possible by ''freezing'' the reaction at a high C2H2 concentration level. The performance of the reaction is determined by extreme conditions with regard to high temperatures (> 2000 K) and short residence times (only a few ms). If coal is the feedstock, the pyrolysis reaction of the hydrocarbon to acetylene is preceded by the heating up of the coal particles (< 100 mum) and the release of their volatile constituents. This contribution reports upon the developments in reactor design on the pilot scale (up to the power of 1,5 MW) and the results arrived at and experience acquired in this work, with a view to elaborating a process for coal-based acetylene manufacture.