Abstract
The Wet Air Oxidation process was developed by F.J. Zimmermann for removing suspended solids from waste waters, notably waste water from pulp mills. The basic idea behind the process is to combine the waste stream and air under suitable conditions so that liquid water is present. In theory waste organic is oxidized to CO2 and water, and thus removed by conversion to a harmless gas. In practice there are problems with incomplete combustion and tar formation especially in the oxidation of phenol. This project was undertaken to try and resolve these problems. Furthermore, specifications in the literature are for mixed reactors, which have financial disadvantages due to mixer sealing problems. This study is part 1 of a two part study to investigate unmixed reactors for the job of Wet Air Oxidation.
The study was made in an unmixed reactor at temperatures of 200 and 250°C Pressure was varied from 800 to 2200 psi, and residence times from 0.25 to 2 hours. Phenol feed concentration was either 1400 or 3000 mg/L for all runs. Conversions of over 99% were achieved for conditions at the highest pressure and either temperature.