ELECTROTHERMAL REFORMING OF HAZARDOUS ORGANICS AND WATER- SOLUBLE WASTES

A1-CHEM FUELS, INC. HAS A PATENT PENDING FOR AN ELECTROTHER-MAL DEVICE TO PRODUCE MEDIUM TO HIGH BTU FUEL GAS FROM WASTEHYDROCARBON SOURCES. THIS UNIT OPERATES BY PRODUCING A HIGH-VOLTAGE ALTERNATING CURRENT ELECTRIC DISCHARGE ACROSS THE INTERFACE BETWEEN A WASTE HYDROCARBON AND WATER. THE EXTREMELY HIGH TEMPERATURE WITHIN THE ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE IS SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE LOCALIZED FAST PYROLYSIS OF THE ADJACENT HYDROCARBONS. THE PRESENCE OF WATER REDUCES THE BUILD UP OF CARBON VIA A WATER GAS REACTION. MOREOVER THE WATER PHASE PERMITS THE INTRODUCTION AND/OR WITHDRAWAL OF VARIOUS IONIC VARIOUS IONIC SPECIES FROM THE LOCALIZED HIGH-TEMPERATURE REACTION ZONE. PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTS INDICATE THAT HAZARDOUS OR TOXIC WASTES DISSOLVED OR SUSPENDED IN EITHER THE WATER OR OIL PHASE ARE COMPLETELY REFORMED. PRODUCT STREAMS CONSIST OF ACLEAN GAS PLUS A SOLID PRECIPITATE. THE GAS WITH A COMPO- SITION OF H20, CO, AND HYDROCARBONS CAN BE USED AS FUEL. THETHE SOLID PRECIPITATE IS A HIGHLY OXIDIZED SLUDGE. THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL INVESTIGATE THE PERFORMANCE OF A PILOT PLANT MODEL OF THIS DEVICE TO DETERMINE IF IT CAN IN- DEEN BE USED SUCCESSFULLY TO TREAT TOXIC OR HAZARDOUS WASTES. OTHER OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM ARE TO DETERMINE: (1) WHETHER TOXIC ACID GASES (HCL, H2S, HCN, ETC.) ARE FORMED IN THE PRODUCT GASES, AND (2) THE NATURE OF THE SLUDGE WASTE WITH RESPECT TO ITS SUITABILITY FOR LANDFILL DISPOSAL.