Patent ID: 6332986
Filing Date: 2001-12-25
Classification: C02F,Y10S

Abstract:
In a process for the wet oxidation of waste streams containing organic contaminants and contaminated with sulfur or phosphorous containing compounds, organic or inorganic, or both, using ammonium nitrate or precursor thereof as the oxidizing agent under conditions wherein the carbon and nitrogen forms are determined and the oxidized and reduced forms of carbon and nitrogen balanced such that the carbon forms are converted to carbon dioxide and the nitrogen forms are converted to nitrogen at desirable levels, under elevated temperature and pressure conditions sufficient to maintain liquid phase conditions, the improvement which comprises:operating said process within a pH of from about 1.5 to 8,wherein the pH is controlled in the wet oxidation process by adding an alkali or alkaline earth metal or sulfur or phosphorus compounds in an amount necessary for maintaining a ratio of M/SO.sub.4.sup.-2 of from 0.1 to 4:1 and a ratio of M/PO.sub.4.sup.-3 of from 0.2 to 0.67:1 in the waste stream during the wet oxidation process wherein M is an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal cation and the ratio is maintained on an equivalence basis.