Supercritical water oxidation of sludges contaminated with toxic organic chemicals

Abstract

Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) is a proven technology for the treatment of contaminated organic wastes. Bench and pilot-scale work completed at The University of Texas at Austin's SCWO Laboratory have proven the technology effective for treating a variety of sludge types, including sludge contaminated with hazardous compounds. The studies included pulp and paper mill sludges and sludges derived from the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewaters. The results presented in this paper confirmed that the removal of the organic component of sludge, including the trace toxic organic compounds, using SCWO exceeded 99.9%. For example, the results show that the destruction removal efficiencies (DRE's) of the PCBs reached 99.99% in the contaminated sludge. No dioxins or furans were detected in the gaseous effluent resulting from the treatment of the PCB-contaminated sludge. These results demonstrate the technical effectiveness of SCWO as a sludge remediation technology.