Scale-up of catalytic wet oxidation under moderate conditions

The Catalytic Wet Oxidation with pure oxygen is a suitable treatment proces s for the degradation of organic matter in wastewaters and sludges. The app lied moderate reaction conditions lead only to a partial oxidation of the t he organics. Therefore the resulting process water has to be purified in a biological treatment plant. In this study, experimental data collected duri ng the wet oxidation of phenol and sewage sludge in a laboratory batch reac tor as well as in a pilot plant are presented. A generalized kinetic model combined with a residence time analysis allows to predict accurately the de gradation organic matter in the pilot plant. The wet oxidation of wastewaters and sewage sludge was realized in one sing le plant concept. Treating suspended or diluted organic wastes produces a h ighly biodegradable process water containing low molecular oxidation produc ts. The investigated Catalytic Wet Oxidation of sewage sludge generates a r esidual solid complying with the European quality standards of disposal con cerning leachability and organic content. Due to its low capital and operat ing costs, the Catalytic Wet Oxidation process constitutes an acceptable al ternative to incineration for the diposal of sludges.