Destruction of Navy Hazardous Wastes by Supercritical Water Oxidation
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) to destroy organic hazardous wastes generated by Navy industrial activities. Supercritical water oxidation is the low temperature combustion of organic material in the medium of supercritical steam. The study concludes that SCWO is an economically attractive method of destroying a wide variety of hazardous organic wastes. The estimated Navy need for SCWO technology is a minimum of seven waste processing plants, each having a capacity of 1 gallon per minute of organic material. The estimated capital cost of each plant is $6M. The estimated hazardous waste disposal cost is approximately $8 per gallon of organic material, which is substantially lower than the conventional disposal cost of up to $45 per gallon. It is estimated that SCWO can be implemented on a large scale, and in a safe, reliable, and efficient manner. Waste streams that contain a large amount of mineral-acid forming chemical species or that contain a large amount of dissolved solids present a challenge to current SCWO technology.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA285222
Entities
People
- Richard E. Kirts
Organizations
- Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center