Hydrothermal reaction apparatus

A hydrothermal reaction apparatus, comprising:

• an object fluid receiving tank for accommodating the object material to be treated and a hydrothermal solvent containing water,
• a high-pressure injection pump in communication with said tank via a flow passage change-over valve for switching to and from a water injection passage,
• a reactor having heating means formed of pipes in sequence, and
• a pressure reducing means,
• wherein the object fluid can be forced into said reactor by means of said high-pressure injection pump and the thermally decomposed fluid after treatment can be discharged via the pressure reducing means,
• said apparatus characterized by said reactor being composed of a preheater and a warmer formed of curved pipes and quick heating means provided in a piping that connects said preheater to said warmer,
• said flow passage change-over valve constructed so that upon start of the apparatus, it communicates with said water injection passage so that water is injected into said reactor by means of said high-pressure injection pump,
• said flow passage change-over valve being subsequently switchable to the object fluid receiving tank so that said object fluid can be forced into said reactor by means of said high-pressure injection pump with pressure maintained at a level not lower than where water is about at a supercritical condition, said injected object fluid being preheated by means of said preheater to a temperature near the point where the reaction starts and then rapidly heated by the quick heating means to a reaction temperature not lower than a level where water is about at a supercritical condition and subsequently warmed at said reaction temperature by means of said warmer while, at the same time, the opening of said pressure reducing means is controlled such that the object fluid flows through the pipes in the reactor under a turbulent condition to decompose the object material.