Possibilities of application of plasma technologies to recycle organic-containing substances: Particularities of high current free burning arcs

Studies of the free burning high current arcs fanned by weak nitrogen or argon flow, with parameters typical for plasmochemical reactors and currents of about $10$ kA, are performed. The electrodes were made of carbon and metals. In this case we show that, under the arc stabilization by nitrogen or argon, a significant number of charge carriers enter the arc due to ionization of carbon and metal atoms. When the high current arc is switched by a melt the main part of the arc energy is imparted into the melt and not more than $35\%$ of the energy is transferred into the bulk of the reactor.