Method for treating organic waste

A method of treating an organic waste containing hydrogen and carbon in molten metal contained in a vessel to sequentially form enriched hydrogen and carbon oxide gas streams, said carbon oxide gas having a significantly increased molar ratio of carbon dioxide/carbon oxide compared to that produced in molten iron under the same conditions, comprising the steps of:

• a) introducing the organic waste into molten metal which comprises two immiscible metals wherein, at the operating conditions, the first immiscible metal has a free energy of oxidation greater than that for oxidation of carbon to carbon monoxide and the second immiscible metal having a free energy of oxidation greater than that for oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, without the addition of a separate oxidizing agent and under conditions sufficient to decompose the organic waste and to generate an enriched hydrogen gas stream and carbonize the molten metal;
• b) removing substantially all of the formed enriched hydrogen gas stream from the vessel;
• c) thereafter adding a separate oxidizing agent into the carbonized molten metal to oxidize carbon contained in the carbonized molten metal to generate an enriched carbon oxide gas stream having a significantly increased ratio of carbon dioxide/carbon monoxide compared to that produced in molten iron under the same conditions;
• and
• d) removing substantially all of the formed enriched carbon oxide gas stream from the vessel.

A method of treating an organic waste containing hydrogen and carbon to sequentially form enriched hydrogen and carbon monoxide gas streams, comprising the steps of:

• a) introducing the organic waste into molten iron contained within a vessel, without the addition of a separate oxidizing agent and under conditions sufficient to decompose the organic waste and to generate an enriched hydrogen gas stream and to carbonize the molten metal;
• b) removing substantially all of the formed enriched hydrogen gas stream from the vessel;
• c) thereafter adding a separate stream of oxygen gas into the carbonized molten iron to oxidize the carbon contained in the carbonized molten iron to thereby form an enriched carbon monoxide gas stream and to decarbonize the molten metal iron;
• and
• d) removing substantially all of the formed enriched carbon monoxide gas stream from the vessel.