Supercritical hydrocyclotron and related methods

A supercritical hydrocyclotron for transforming one or more selected organic materials into a plurality of reaction products via supercritical or near-supercritical water reaction, comprising:

• a conveyor having an inlet and a downstream outlet;
• a steam generator fluidically connected to a downstream inlet manifold, wherein the inlet manifold forms a ring having a plurality of inwardly facing exit portals, wherein the plurality of exit portals is circumferentially positioned about the inner surface of the ring;
• a tubular reactor having an interior space fluidically connected to an inlet end and an outlet end, wherein the inlet end of the tubular reactor is adjacent and fluidically connected to both (i) the outlet of the conveyor, and (ii) the plurality of circumferentially positioned exit portals of the inlet manifold, and wherein the inlet end of the reactor also comprises an axially aligned occlusion having one or more through-holes, wherein the tubular reactor is configured such that, under operating conditions, a flowing polymeric extrudate exiting the outlet of the conveyor and entering into the interior space of the tubular reactor is spread by the occlusion and radially impinged upon by flowing hot compressed water and/or supercritical water that is exiting the plurality of circumferentially positioned exit portals to yield the plurality of reaction products mixed with water, and wherein the outlet end of the tubular reactor is fluidically connected to;
• a hydrocyclonic separator, wherein the hydrocyclonic separator is configured to spin and substantially separate the plurality of reactions products from the water and comprises, in fluidic series, (i) a cyclindrical swirl chamber section, and (ii) a concentric tapered reducing section, and wherein, under operating conditions, the plurality of reaction products mixed with water exiting the outlet end of the tubular reactor enters into the cyclindrical swirl chamber section through a tangential inlet and creates a flowing vortex with a reverse-flowing central core within the hydrocyclonic separator, and wherein the plurality of reaction products exits the hydrocyclonic separator through an axially aligned reaction products ejection port located on the cyclindrical swirl chamber section, and wherein the water exits the hydrocyclonic separator through an axially aligned outlet.