Evaluation of tubular reactor designs for supercritical water oxidation of U.S. Department of Energy mixed waste

Abstract

Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) is an emerging technology for industrial waste treatment and is being developed for treatment of the US Department of Energy (DOE) mixed hazardous and radioactive wastes. In the SCWO process, wastes containing organic material are oxidized in the presence of water at conditions of temperature and pressure above the critical point of water, 374 C and 22.1 MPa. DOE mixed wastes consist of a broad spectrum of liquids, sludges, and solids containing a wide variety of organic components plus inorganic components including radionuclides. This report is a review and evaluation of tubular reactor designs for supercritical water oxidation of US Department of Energy mixed waste. Tubular reactors are evaluated against requirements for treatment of US Department of Energy mixed waste. Requirements that play major roles in the evaluation include achieving acceptable corrosion, deposition, and heat removal rates. A general evaluation is made of tubular reactors and specific reactors are discussed. Based on the evaluations, recommendations are made regarding continued development of supercritical water oxidation reactors for US Department of Energy mixed waste.