Supercritical water oxidation for the destruction of toxic organic wastewaters:A review

The destruction of toxic organic wastewaters from munitions demilitarization and complex industrial chemical clearly becomes an overwhelming problem if left to conventional treatment processes. Two options, incineration and supercritical water oxidation （SCWO）, exist for the complete destruction of toxic organic wastewaters. Incinerator has associated problems such as very high cost and public resentment; on the other hand, SCWO has proved to be a very promising method for the treatment of many different wastewaters with extremely efficient organic waste destruction 99.99% with none of the emissions associated with incineration. In this review, the concepts of SCWO, result and present perspectives of application, and industrial status of SCWO are critically examined and discussed.

Degradation mechanism of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene in supercritical water oxidation

The 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene （TNT） is a potential carcinogens and TNT contaminated wastewater, which could not be effectively disposed with conventional treatments. The supercritical water oxidation （SCWO） to treat TNT contaminated wastewater was studied in this article, The TNT concentration in wastewater was measured by high-performance liquid chromatograph （HPLC） and the degraded intermediates were analyzed using GC-MS. The results showed that SCWO could degrade TNT efficiently in the presence of oxygen. The reaction temperature, pressure, residence time and oxygen excess were the main contributing factors in the process. The decomposition of TNT was accelerated as the temperature or residence time increased. At 550℃, 24 MPa, 120 s and oxygen excess 300%, TNT removal rate could exceed 99.9%. Partial oxidation occured in SCWO without oxygen. It was concluded that supercritical water was a good solvent and had excellent oxidation capability in the existence of oxygen. The main intermediates of TNT during SCWO included toluene, 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, nitrophenol, naphthalene, fluorenone, dibutyl phthalate, alkanes and several dimers based on the intermediate analysis. Some side reactions, such as coupled reaction, hydrolysis reaction and isomerization reaction may take place simultaneously when TNT was oxidized by SCWO.

COD Removal Efficiencies of Some Aromatic Compounds in Supercritical Water Oxidation

Some aromatic compounds, phenol, aniline and nitrobenzene, were oxidized in supercritical water. It was experimentally found that the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of these organic compounds can achieve a high level more than 90% in a short residence time at temperatures high enough. As temperature, pressure and residence time increase, the COD removal efficiencies of the organic compounds would all increase. It is also found that temperature and residence time offer greater influences on the oxidation process than pressure. The difficulty in oxidizing these three compounds is in the order of nitrobenzene ＞ aniline ＞ Phenol. In addition, it is extremely difficult to oxidize aniline and nitrobenzene to CO2 and H2O at the temperature lower than 873.15 K and 923.15 K, respectively. Only at the temperature higher than 873.15 K and 923.15 K, respectively, the COD removal efficiencies of 90% of aniline and nitrobenzene can be achieved.

Decomposition of oil cleaning agents from nuclear power plants by supercritical water oxidation

Oil cleaning agents generated from nuclear power plants(NPPs)are radioactive organic liquid wastes.To date,because there are no satisfactory industrial treatment measures,these wastes can only be stored for a long time.In this work,the optimization for the supercritical water oxidation(SCWO)of the spent organic solvent was investigated.The main process parameters of DURSET(oil cleaning agent)SCWO,such as temperature,reaction time,and excess oxygen coefficient,were optimized using response surface methodology,and a quadratic polynomial model was obtained.The determination coefficient(R^(2))of the model is 0.9812,indicating that the model is reliable.The optimized process conditions were at 515 C,66 s,and an excess oxygen coefficient of 211%.Under these conditions,the chemical oxygen demand removal of organic matter could reach 99.5%.The temperature was found to be the main factor affecting the SCWO process.Ketones and benzene-based compounds may be the main intermediates in DURSET SCWO.This work provides basic data for the industrialization of the degradation of spent organic solvents from NPP using SCWO technology.

Effects of oxidants on the degradation of tributyl phosphate under supercritical water oxidation conditions

The effects of additional oxidants,such as NaNO_(3),Na_(2)S_(2)O_(3),KClO_(4),and K_(2)Cr_(2)O_(7),on the supercritical water oxidation(SCWO)of tributyl phosphate(TBP)were studied.The coupling of an ionic oxidant with SCWO can effectively enhance the oxidative degradation ability of the system,thus increasing its organic-matter-removal efficiency at a reduced reaction temperature.Moreover,the addition of NaNO_(3),KClO_(4),or K_(2)Cr_(2)O_(7)could improve this efficiency at a reaction temperature of 500℃compared with that of the original system at 550℃.Additionally,based on the conditions adopted in this study,the addition of either of these oxidants could reduce the final total organic carbon(TOC)of the effluent from~500 to<100 ppm.Concurrently,the ionic oxidants could effectively improve the processing capacity of the SCWO system to reduce the scale of the equipment,as well as the amount of produced wastewater.Compared with KClO_(4)and Na_(2)S_(2)O_(3),the addition of 10 mmol/L NaNO_(3)and K_(2)Cr_(2)O_(7)to the organic feed could increase the processing capacity of the system from 4 to 10%while maintaining the TOC removal at>99%.The effects of the ionic oxidants on the gas products,including CO_(2),CO,H_(2),and CH_(4),as well as other organic gases,have also been studied.Among these gas products,CO_(2)accounted for the main gas product with a proportion of more than half.At<500℃,temperature significantly affected the as products(CO,H_(2),CH_(4),and other organic gases).However,the gas product was mainly CO_(2)when the temperature was increased to≥500℃.This study initially revealed the enhancement effect of ionic oxidants on SCWO,which still requires further research.

Aniline destruction by supercritical water oxidation and its reaction kinetics

Supercritical water oxidation （SCWO） is an effective method for wastewater treatment. In this study, a lot of experiments are carried out to study the influence of various factors on the aniline destruction rate in the SCWO process with a novel experiment setup. The experimental results show that the aniline destruction rate rises with the increase of the residence time, the reaction temperature and the reaction pressure. A dynamics analysis of the aniline SCWO reaction is conducted and the dynamic equation is obtained.

Supercritical water oxidation of polyvinyl alcohol and desizing wastewater: Influence of NaOH on the organic decomposition

Polyvinyl alcohol is a refractory compound widely used in industry. Here we report supercritical water oxidation of polyvinyl alcohol solution and desizing wastewater with and without sodium hydroxide addition. However, it is difficult to implement complete degradation of organics even though polyvinyl alcohol can readily crack under supercritical water treatment. Sodium hydroxide had a significant catalytic effect during the supercritical water oxidation of polyvinyl alcohol. It appears that the OH ion participated in the C-C bond cleavage of polyvinyl alcohol molecules, the CO2-capture reaction and the neutralization of intermediate organic acids, promoting the overall reactions moving in the forward direction. Acetaldehyde was a typical intermediate product during reaction. For supercritical water oxidation of desizing wastewater, a high destruction rate （98.25%） based on total organic carbon was achieved. In addition, cases where initial wastewater was alkaline were favorable for supercritical water oxidation treatment, but salt precipitation and blockage issues arising during the process need to be taken into account seriously.

Destruction of methylphosphonic acid in a supercritical water oxidation bench-scale double wall reactor

The destruction of methylphosphonic acid （MPA）, a final product by hydrolysis/neutralization of organophosphorus agents such as sarin and VX （O-ethyl S-[2-（diisopropylamino）ethyl] methylphosphonothionate）, was investigated in a a bench-scale, continuous concentric vertical double wall reactor under supercritical water oxidation condition. The experiments were conducted at a temperature range of 450–600°C and a fixed pressure of 25 MPa. Hydrogen peroxide was used as an oxidant. The destruction efficiency （DE） was monitored by analyzing total organic carbon （TOC） and MPA concentrations using ion chromatography on the liquid effluent samples. The results showed that the DE of MPA up to 99.999% was achieved at a reaction temperature of 600°C, oxygen concentration of 113% storichiometric requirement, and reactor residence time of 8 sec. On the basis of the data derived from experiments, a global kinetic rate equation for the DE of MPA and DE of TOC were developed by nonlinear regression analysis. The model predictions agreed well with the experimental data.

Characteristics of Oxidation and Oxygen Penetration of Alloy 690 in 600°C Aerated Supercritical Water

The oxide films formed on Alloy 690 exposed to 600 ℃ supercritical water were characterized using mass measurement, X-ray diffraction. Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that the mass gain of the alloy in supercritical water decreased with increasing exposure time. The oxide films have a double-layer structure, with an inner layer rich in Cr and outer layer rich in Ni and Fe after short time and long time exposure. The penetration of the oxide along the grain boundaries was observed, and the penetration depth increased with increasing exposure time. The grain boundaries and voids are the short-path of oxygen diffusion into the metal.

Analysis of Oxides Formed on the Surface of the Alloy 690 in Hydrogenated Supercritical Water

The oxides formed on the surface of the alloy 690 in hydrogenated supercritical water at 400℃ for 1000 h were investigated using scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.The oxides on me surface of the alloy 690 exhibited multi-layer structure：an outer layer consisted of granular crystallites（NiO and NiFe_2O_4） and a compact inner layer（spinel and Cr_2O_3）.Chemical analysis indicated that the outer layer was enriched in nickel but depleted in chromium,whereas the inner layer was enriched in chromium and iron but depleted in nickel.The inner layer was also characterized as layered structure by Fe-rich spinel on top of continuous Cr_2O_3 layer.Besides,Cr_2O_3 nodules were readily observed at the oxides/alloy interface.

Corrosion Behavior of Ni–20Cr–18W–1Mo Superalloy in Supercritical Water

The corrosion behavior of Ni–20Cr–18 W–1Mo superalloy in supercritical water 500 °C/25 MPa for 200 h is investigated using gravimetry, SEM/EDS, XPS, and TEM. The oxide films show a layered structure with Ni rich in the outer layer, and Cr rich in the inner layer, consisting of an outer Ni（OH）2and NiO layer, including some Cr（OH）3, and an inner Cr2O3, Ni Cr2O4, and WO3 layer. Mo elements are not oxidized. The oxide films grow via a mixed mechanism,namely metal dissolution/oxide precipitation mechanism and solid-state growth mechanism. The effects of secondary and primary carbides on the weight-gain trend and oxide formation are discussed.

Temperature sensitivity of organic compound destruction in SCWO process

To study the temperature sensitivity of the destruction of organic compounds in supercritical water oxidation process （SCWO）, oxidation effects of twelve chemicals in supercritical water were investigated. The SCWO reaction rates of different compounds improved to varying degrees with the increase of temperature, so the highest slope of the temperature-effect curve （/max） was defined as the maximum ratio of removal ratio to working temperature. It is an important index to stand for the temperature sensitivity effect in SCWO. It was proven that the higher imax is, the more significant the effect of temperature on the SCWO effect is. Since the high-temperature area of SCWO equipment is subject to considerable damage from fatigue, the temperature is of great significance in SCWO equipment operation. Generally, most compounds （/max 〉 0.25） can be completely oxidized when the reactor temperature reaches 500~C. However, some compounds （/max 〉 0.25） need a higher temperature for complete oxidation, up to 560~C. To analyze the correlation coefficients between/max and various molecular descriptors, a quantum chemical method was used in this study. The structures of the twelve organic compounds were optimized by the Density Functional Theory B3LYP/6-311G method, as well as their quantum properties. It was shown that six molecular descriptors were negatively correlated to imax while other three descriptors were positively correlated to imax. Among them, dipole moment had the greatest effect on the oxidation thermodynamics of the twelve organic compounds. Once a correlation between molecular descriptors and imax is established, SCWO can be run at an appropriate temperature according to molecular structure.