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� <br />PLASMA HEATING SYSTEM <br />aAdAwmttnouT�ET— <br />SYNGAS OUT <br />aASIFICA110N. ZONE <br />AIR <br />PLASMA HEATING SYSTEM <br />Figure B-11~ Cross-Section of a Plasma Arc Furnace 13 <br />1.3 Biological Fuel Production <br />Producing a"fuel" product from organic materials in waste by biological processes is <br />termed biological fuel production. Typically, this fuel product takes the shape of <br />combustible gas or liquid formed when organic nnaheha| in waste breaks down. <br />Decomposition of the organic portion of waste by microorganisms in the absence of <br />oxygen, known as "anaerobic digesting," creates methane /CH*) and other gases in <br />combination with about half the energy of natural gas. This biogaa can be used as a <br />fuel and burned for energy or power production directly. It can also be refined to <br />produce a pipeline-quality gas that is almost pure methane and further processed <br />into a liquid fuel like methanol. <br />1.3.1 Cellulosic Ethanol <br />Et�a��,e��,�a��t�isu�|�o�u���s�r���� <br />oan' be produced from wood, grasses, or other cellulose containing material, <br />including the organic portion of solid waste. This is referred to as ad|u|msio ethanol. <br />It is chemically identical to ethanol from other sources, such as corn starch or sugar, <br />but has the advantage that the feedstock is |ignoca||u|ooe raw material that is highly <br />abundant and diverse. (The word "cellulosic" simply refers to the source material.) <br />However, it differs in that it requires a greater amount of processing to make the <br />sugar monomers available bothe microorganisms that are typically used to produce <br />ethanol byfermentation. <br />oGanplasma,Atlanta, GA. <br />GBE/CO8027-01 B-14 August 1E,2OO8 <br />