Successful Treatment of Wastes in Supercritical Water

摘要

Water under supercritical conditions (374℃, 22.1 MPa) behaves like a perfect organic solvent with acid-like characteristics. It can dissolve organics and hydrolyze polymers. During supercritical water (SCW) combustion no flame-generated pollutants are formed, emissions are reduced and heat generated. This paper described experimental results obtained for various hazardous wastes which were successfully treated applying SCW. Results concerning waste-to-product conversion, destruction efficiency and product characteristics are presented. It is expected that users in the waste management sector from the automotive, steel, electrical and pulp & paper industries would be the major beneficiaries from the successful adaptation of the work discussed. The new understanding of the wastes evolution/destruction during supercritical water combustion and the technology in which pollutant formation is reduced could be implemented in various waste treatment facilities ranging from municipal to hazardous.