Method and apparatus for controlled chemical reactions

Abstract

A method and apparatus for effecting accelerated chemical reactions at elevated temperatures and pressures including wet oxidation of materials in waste streams. An influent waste stream or first reactant is directed through a long tubular coil within a containment vessel with a second reactant being added to the influent. The waste stream includes gas and liquid components. The flow rates for the reactants of the waste stream are set to cause plug or slug flow of the waste stream through the tubular coil. The curvature of the coil tends to induce a secondary flow in the liquid component such that the liquid component tends to travel in a spiral thereby providing more intimate mixing of the reactants. The containment vessel may be partitioned to form a series of successive compartments to permit different temperature gradients to be applied to successive sections of the tubing coil across its length. Alternatively, a tube in tube construction for the tubular coil permits counter current heat exchange between the waste stream within the inner tube and a returning stream. Multiple injection and extraction points are provided along the path of the tubular coil to permit gas, liquid or solid reactants to be added or extracted as desired. The tubular coil provides an excellent environmental container for the reaction stream and is extremely suitable for temperature control to permit continuous heat input, autogenic operation and continuous heat extraction.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.