Direct energy recovery from primary and secondary sludges by supercritical water oxidation

Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) oxidizes organic and biological materials virtually completely to benign products without the need for stack gas scrubbing. Heavy metals are recovered as stabilized solid, along with the sand and clay that is present in the feed. The technology has been under development for twenty years. The major obstacle to commercialization has been developing reactors that are not clogged by inorganic solid deposits. That problem has been solved by using tubular reactors with fluid velocities that are high enough to keep solids in suspension. Recently, system designs have been created that reduce the cost of processing sewage sludges below that of incineration. At 10 wt- % dry solids, sludge can be oxidized with virtually complete recovery of the sludge heating value as hot water or high-pressure steam. Liquid carbon dioxide of high purity can be recovered from the gaseous effluent and excess oxygen can be recovered for recycle. The net effect is to reduce the stack to a harmless vent with minimal flow rate of a clean gas. Complete simulations have been developed using physical property models that accurately simulate the thermodynamic properties of sub- and supercritical water in mixtures with O2, N2, CO2, and organics. Capital and operating cost estimates are given for sewage sludge treatment, which are less costly than incineration. The scenario of direct recovery of energy from sludges has inherent benefits compared to other gasification or liquefaction options.