Recycling possibilities of organic waste by hydrothermal process

Abstract

Hydrothermal solution is wide open to have a wide possibility for reaction media from the range of ionic to radical reactions. The hydrothermal solution around at critical point have a wide variation of dielectric constant from 80 to 2 depend on P-T conditions. The choice of suitable reaction media therefore, can be easily controlled by selecting just the P-Tconditions. Further, the ion product(Kw value) shows a maximum value around at 250°C, and as a result, the water at this temperature range have a maximum hydrolytic ability and perform a perfect decomposition of toxic and hazardous materials, such as dioxin, PCBs, freons, etc. Using steam having a pressure below saturated vapor pressure at high temperature range, organic polymer is easily decomposed to monomer and the coal to liquefy and gasify. In this paper, the author aimed to evaluate the employment of the mini-autoclave and the practicality of continuous tube reactor and its application for decomposition of halogenated organic compounds, degradation of coal, liquefaction of polymer and rubber, as described.