COMBINATION OF INDIRECT ELECTROCHEMISTRY WITH SUPERCRITICAL-FLUID EXTRACTION FOR HAZARDOUS-WASTE DESTRUCTION AND ORGANIC-SYNTHESIS

At the Institut fur Technische Chemie of the Forschungszentrum Karlsru he a method is developed to combine indirect electrochemistry with sup ercritical fluid extraction. Specially two applications are investigat ed. In the first case hazardous organics extracted by supercritical CO 2 from contaminated solids or aqueous effluents are destroyed by indir ect electrooxidation. A pressure cell has been constructed, where the CO2 loaded with the organics is contacted with the electrolyte contain ing the oxidation agent, so that the pollutants can be destroyed by ox idation. The regeneration of the electrolyte is carried out within the pressure cell. In the second case, with regard to synthesis, an organ ic reactant is dissolved in supercritical CO2, contacted in a column w ith the electrolyte containing the mediator, and oxidized or reduced t o the corresponding products. In an ideal case the formed product is d ischarged from the column by the CO2 and can be isolated by an expansi on step. The electrolyte is recycled by electrochemical regeneration o utside of the pressure apparatus.