4. Cleanup of an Aqueous Waste Stream
a. Supercritical Water Oxidation to Cleanup an Aqueous Waste Stream Contaminated
with Phenol
This project looks at alternatives for the treatment of an aqueous waste
stream contaminated with small amounts of phenol, whose concentration must
be reduced before the water can be discharged. The process uses supercritical
water oxidation to completely destroy the organics in the waste stream.
This technology is currently in use for treatment of a mixed aqueous waste
by Huntsman Chemical in Austin, TX. The process involves heating the aqueous
waste stream to supercritical conditions (> 221 atm and 374°C), where
it is mixed with air, which is totally miscible at those conditions. The
reaction takes place in a plug flow reactor and the stream is cooled back
to ambient conditions.
This process would be an interesting one-semester design project. Material
available on this project includes a project report, PFDs and an economic
evaluation. Instructors can contact Professor Stadtherr for this information.
CLICK HERE to obtain an Adobe Acrobat file about
this project.
Joseph
A. Shaeiwitz
Department of Chemical Engineering
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6102
Morgantown, WV 26506-6102
Phone: 304-293-2111 ext.2410
Fax: 304-293-4139
email: shaeiwit@cemr.wvu.edu
Mark A. Stadtherr
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556
phone (219) 631-9318
FAX (219) 631-8366
email: markst@nd.edu
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