PROCESS FOR THE DECONTAMINATION AND TREATMENT WITH OXIDATIVE COUNTERFLOW OF A LIQUID, GASEOUS OR SOLID MATRIX

Abstract: The process includes the phases of filling the first reactor (10) with a particulate support (22), that is a solid matrix to be decontaminated and treated or it is impregnated by a liquid or gaseous matrix to be decontaminated and treated and inlet at one end (23) of the reactor (10) an oxidative flow and trigger at the opposite end (24) a thermoxidation reaction, in such a manner that a mobile flame front (26) is generated in the direction opposite (28) to the oxidative flow having a temperature of at least 1200 DEG C so to substantially decompose or destroy contaminants, undesired substances and compounds present initially in the matrix. Preferably, prior to triggering the thermoxidation reaction, the particulate support (22) is mixed and/or treated with a decontaminating reagent.

Description: Process for the decontamination and treatment with oxidative counterflow of a licruid, gaseous or solid matrix This invention refers to a decontamination and treatment process for a liquid, gaseous or solid matrix, containing, contaminants, undesired substances or compounds. Numerous organic contaminants represent, in fact, a danger for the environment and public health. Some classes of them (i.e. halogenated substances) have a high priority, due to their chemical inertia and resistance to natural degradation in the environment. They, in fact, maintain characteristics of persistency, harmfulness and toxicity for a long time (decades) , with the possibility of bio-accumulations in the various species, until they determine permanent damages in living organism and in mankind. Some of these halogenated compounds (i.e. PCDDs and PCDFs) present also carcinogen, teratogen and mutagen risks. In the last decades several methods for the treatment and the disposal of halogenated organic compounds have been pro¬ posed, as controlled thermodestruction and the use of "secu¬ re" landfills. However, it has been found that, for the dis¬ posal of materials contaminated by toxic and halogenated com¬ pounds, these methods are not completely satisfactory, espe¬ cially on large scales, and when the recovery of recyclable materials is desirable. In some instances, the correct disp¬ osal of wastes containing these compounds results impossi¬ ble, since some Countries are totally lacking appropriate disposal systems (i.e. currently in Italy). Several chemical processes for the decomposition of haloge¬ nated organic compounds have been developed. Pytlewski and Smith, in their U.S. patents No. 4 337 368 and No. 4236 090 demonstrated that polyhalogenated organic compounds were found to be decomposed by the reaction with a pre-formed or- gano-sodium reagent, such as sodium naphthalenide, NaPEG. In these cases, the use of metallic sodium metal requires special handling procedures and specialized equipment, since even just traces of water in suspension must be eliminated, so as to avoid dangerous side reactions, that could cause explosions and fires. Later, Brunelle of General Electric, in U.S. Pat. No. 4 351 718 and No. 4353793, proposed the removal of polychlorina- ted aromatic hydrocarbons dissolved in an organic solvent, such as transformer oil, treating the solution with a mixtu¬ re of polyethylene glycol or monocapped polyakyleneglycol alkyl ether and an alkali metal hydroxide. It has been found that such reactions require extended peri¬ ods of time to reduce the concentration of halogenated con¬ taminants, such as polychlorinated biphenils (PCB's), to a level generally acceptable by the regulations effective in the various Countries. Also, Peterson of Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation in U.S. Pat. No. 4532028 proposed to reduce the level of halogena¬ ted aromatics in a hydrocarbon stream by the treatment with an alkaline reactant in a sulfoxide solvent. This process involves a further purification step to remove the sulfoxide solvent, after decontamination, where the resulting deconta¬ minated fluid will be reused. In U.S. Pat. 4 632 742 and Eur. Pat. No. 0 118 858 in the name of the present Applicant, Tundo disclosed a method for the decomposition of halogenated organic compounds by a rea¬ gent which consists of (a) polyethyleneglycol, Nixolens®, an alcohol or polyhydroxy compounds, (b) a base, such a car¬ bonate or bicarbonate of alkili metal or alkaline earth car¬ bonate and (c) an oxidative agent, such as Na 2 0 2 and Ba0 2 , or a source of radicals in the absence of oxygen. This method is applicable to the decontamination of mineral oil, soil and various porous surfaces. But the use of sodium peroxide, or other oxidative agents and the source of free radicals pose potential explosion and fire hazards involved in their operation. Also, this method can be prohibitively expensive because of the cost of peroxide. Further, in U.S. Pat. No. 4 839 042 and Eur Pat No. 0 135 043 in the name of the present Applicant, Tumiatti et al de¬ scribed a continuous decontamination process with a dehalo- genation bed, which is composed of a polyethylene glycol or a copolymer of various alkene oxides in a certain proportion and an alkali alcoholate or alkaline earth, which are adsor¬ bed on certain solid carriers. However, this process was found to require a large amount of reagents and extended pe¬ riods of time to reduce the concentration of halogenated con¬ taminants, such as PCBs, to a generally acceptable level prescribed by current regulations. In the Application for patent PCT/EP93/03609 dated 20 Decem¬ ber 1993, published on July 7, 1994, with No. WO94/14504, in the name of the present Applicant, Tumiatti presented a process for the removal of halogenated organic compounds from fluid and solid contaminated matrices, which allows the functional recovery of such fluids (mainly dielectric miner¬ al oils in operation in electric transformers) , after that the dangerous substances are easily decomposed from mate¬ rials usable according to this dehalogenation process. In the latter, the halogenated organic compounds are rapidly and completely decomposed by a reagent consisting in a non- alkali metal, a polyalkyleneglycol or a Nixolens® and a hy¬ droxide or a Ci-Cg alcoholate of alkali metal or alkaline earth. This dehalogenating reagent overcomes the aforemen¬ tioned deficiencies and gives more effective results than those obtained by using previous art methods with a reagent produced from an oxidative agent or a source of radicals. This reagent can be directly mixed with the fluid or solid matrix, contaminated by halogenated organic compounds, under stirring and at a pre-selected temperature typically from 20°C to 150°C (preferably from 70° to 120°C) . The use of ul¬ trasounds and UV sources in the dehalogenation process desc¬ ribed above, increases the efficiency of the reaction 10-15% and decreases the duration about 25%. In particular, this reagent, combined with porous solid sup¬ ports (i.e. pumice) , can become a fixed bed for the continu¬ ous removal of halogenated organic compounds in fluids con¬ taminated by PCBs, using a device of appropriate shape and dimension, such as a column and cartridge or a series of cartridges. With the introduction of the dehalogenation process just de¬ scribed and its subsequent industrialization, it was desira¬ ble to find an optimized solution to improve the operating exploitation of the above dehalogenation reagent and for the recovery of the materials eventually used to support it, af¬ ter the chemical dehalogenation of the PCBs and/or the des¬ truction of the oxidized organic compounds, as alternative to the traditional methods of disposal of the wastes genera¬ ted. Moreover, the industrial applications of the decomposition process described above, result to be not conveniently app¬ licable or totally non-applicable in specific situations, such as, for example, the destruction of ASKAREL (pure PCBs or in mixtures with trichlorinebenzene) , oils highly conta¬ minated by PCBs or halogenated substances, other contaminat¬ ed synthetic fluids (i.e. silicones and esters) , solids (so¬ il, recyclable metals from machinery/equipment highly conta¬ minated and destined to disposal by thermodestruction) , wa¬ ter based and gaseous matrices. With the purpose of satisfying the requirements described above and to avoid the inconveniences made evident previous¬ ly by the known technique, a process as described in claim 1 constitutes a subject of this invention. The process of the invention can be defined "an oxidative counterflow", including a phase where the front of the flame propagates in the direction opposite to the oxidative flow in the first reactor. Thanks to this, it is possible to pi¬ lot accurately the thermoxidation reaction, completely des¬ troying contaminants, undesired substances and compounds and obtaining harmless reaction products. The above particulate support can be directly the solid ma¬ trix to be treated, such as, for example, soil impregnated by hydrocarbons, or an adsorbent support that is impregnated in the mentioned first reactor, by a liquid or gaseous matr¬ ix to be decontaminated, prior to starting the thermoxidat¬ ion reaction. The process of this invention is, therefore, usable for the treatment of liquid, gaseous and solid matri¬ ces. In a process such as the one for this invention, the most important critical factors are: the loss of material being treated, the cost of the energy required, the variation of the adsorbing capability of the supports and the destructive efficiency of the reacting materials. The process of the in¬ vention has surprisingly demonstrated to be intrinsically self-cleaning and practically capable of self-sustaining without the application of energy from outside, requiring only the priming energy necessary to start the thermoxida¬ tion reaction. Moreover, it maintains and even improves in time, the physical integrity of the particulate support with a negligible effect on its surface and adsorbent capability. It was observed that it is possible to apply the process of the invention in an efficient and economically advantageous manner to a large range of highly contaminated matrices that the processes described above of the known technique were not capable to treat properly. The present invention represents, therefore, an effective and economic alternative to the disposal of matrices conta¬ minated by highly toxic or persistent organic compounds, ob¬ tained through controlled thermodestruction, requiring, al¬ so, large fixed installations, considerable investments and operational costs, due mostly to high energy consumption, causing a strong environmental impact on the territory with considerable logistic problems, deriving from the transpor¬ tation and handling of large quantities of wastes, as well as difficult social relations with the population and/or po¬ litical and administration authorities involved. In a preferred form of implementation of the process of the invention, prior to the priming of the thermoxidation reac¬ tion, the above particulate support is mixed and/or treated with a decontaminating reagent including at least one of the components A) , B) and C) , representing A) one or more metals or their oxides, B) a polyalkileneglycol or a Nixolens® and C) an hydroxide, a C x -C 6 alcoholate, a carbonate or bicarbo- nate of alkali metal or alkaline-earth. Non-limitative examples of matrices that can be decon¬ taminated and treated with the process of the invention, are: - water, i.e. drinking, drainage, process or cooling water; - a liquid, such as solvents, chemical intermediates, pro¬ cess or food fluids, oil or fluids with a dielectric, dia¬ thermic, hydraulic, lubricating function, with a mineral, vegetable, animal or synthetic base, or mixtures thereof; - air, such as coming from working areas, from the environ¬ ment itself or from a process; - a technical or process gas; - a solid, such as an adsorbing or filtering support, a pro¬ cess support, earth, soil, a component or a complete equip¬ ment; - a waste or residue, such as urban, special, toxic, harmful or medical wastes; - a bio-filter. Non-limitative examples of contaminants, undesired substan¬ ces and compounds, that can be treated both in a pure form or diluted with the process of the invention, are: - halogenated aromatic compounds, such as for example, PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs, PBBS, DD s, DDEs; - dangerous organic compounds, toxic, harmful, canceroge- nous, theratogenous, mutagenous compounds and dangerous pol¬ lutants, chlorofluorocarbons, sulphur esafluoride or poly- aromatic hydrocarbons; - aggressive chemical agents, bacteriological agents, virus¬ es, retroviruses, fungi and their mixtures, carried on li¬ quid, gaseous, solid or biological matrices; - derivatives of polar and/or oxidized and/or degraded by¬ products. In particular, the process of the invention can be applied to treat a matrix containing exhausted waste reagent used for the decomposition of halogenated components, of the type described in the above mentioned application for a patent WO94/14504 submitted by the present Applicant. In this case, in fact, a surprising synergy is produced between the cri¬ tical factors of success of the chemical decontamination and thermoxidation and also it is possible to recover materials otherwise destined to be disposed of in appropriate authori¬ zed systems. More in detail, the process of the invention, finalized to the realization of a regeneration and/or recycling of the above reagents - that are used eventually on a support for the industrial dehalogenation with the complete, destruction of undesired organic compounds - is based upon the inter-re¬ action of the reagents, that maintain a sufficient rheologic capability, with the adsorbent supports and with the oxida¬ tive counterflow system. The process of the invention is realized in a reactor where the zone of high temperature thermo-oxidation or flame front is activated and self-maintained by air/oxygen starting from the base of the column of the materials being treated and propagates in the direction opposite to the oxidative flow towards the entrance of the oxidative agent itself. The fla¬ me front generated by the process progressively gasifies a fraction of the materials to be treated and produces volati¬ le compounds and a porous residue that is regenerated and can be reused repeatedly. The thermal energy generated dur¬ ing the process is relatively elevated and produces a mixtu¬ re composed, mainly, by carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hy¬ drogen and hydrocarbons. In the thermo-oxidation zone tempe¬ ratures up to about 1,500 °C are obtained. The residual car- 97/07858 on produced by the thermoxidation process can also be used as adsorbent support for the removal of contaminants. The residual carbon residue repeatedly re-used, with a porous surface much higher than carbon at the initial state, becom¬ es extremely more efficient and is also free of tar. The highly reactive ambient in the high temperature thermoxida¬ tion zone is capable of virtually destroying all organic compounds. This, together with the adsorbing nature of the carbon support, allows the complete destruction of the resi¬ dues of organic products left in the supports/reagents trea¬ ted. More generally, the process of the invention solves a series of important problems connected with the prevention of envi¬ ronmental damages and the conservation and/or the recovery of vital resources, such as, but not limitatively: - to detoxify a large variety of halogenated organics, such as polychlorinated bifenils (PCBs) Askarel fluids, polyaro- matic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated-dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) , polychlorinated-dibenzo-furans (PCDFs) , polybromi- nated bifenils (PBB's), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), dichlo- ro-dyfenil-trichloroetane (DDTs) , 2,4,5 trichloro-phenole, polyhalogenated alkilbenzene, sulphur esafluoride and others; - to eliminate polar and oxidation by-products from oils and fluids (such as in the regeneration of dielectric, diather¬ mic and other oils) ; - to regenerate inorganic supports and to recover resources and metals from exhausted reagents and from contaminated equipment destined for disposal (such as electric transfor¬ mers and capacitors and other machines) ; and - to decontaminate soil polluted by hydrocarbons and dange¬ rous organic substances. The process of the invention is compatible with the environ¬ ment and offers the unique opportunities of an integrated and flexible system, requiring limited investments for the realization of mobile or fixed operating configurations to be coupled also with other chemical/physical treatment equipment/processes in various operational scenarios with specific contaminants and/or their mixtures. A regenerated particulate support obtainable at the end of a decontamination and treatment process, as previously des¬ cribed, constitutes a further subject of this invention. Further advantages and characteristics of this invention will result evident from the detailed description that fol¬ lows with reference to the drawings enclosed provided purely as a non limiting example, where: - figure 1 represents a diagram of a system usable for the performance of the process of this invention, - figure 2 is the more detailed diagram of reactor making part of the system of figure 1, - figure 3 is a flow diagram, on which a material balance has been based (example 1) , - figure 4 is a dehalogenation reaction diagram (example 1) , - figure 5 is a chromatogram of the residues of PCBs in a typical exhausted waste dehalogenation reagent (example 1) , - figure 6 illustrates chromatograms of residues of PCBs in active carbon impregnated at first - in various proportions - by waste dehalogenation reagent and then subject to the process of the invention (example 1) , - figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the percentage of the loss of mass by the carbon subject to the process of the invention with respect to the substances to be eliminated in function of the load of spent reagent added to the carbon (example 1) , - figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the destructive effi¬ ciency of the process of the invention with respect to the substances to be eliminated in function of the load of rea¬ gent added to the carbon (example 1) , - figures 9 and 10 represent the chromatograms of the resi¬ dues of PCBs after the application of the process of the in¬ vention to mixtures in different proportions of Askarel and dehalogenation reagent supported by coke (example 2) , and - figure 11 illustrates the variation of the surface area of Darco active carbon with the number of regeneration cy¬ cles to which it has been subject (example 3) . A decontamination and treatment system includes (figure 1) a first 10, a second 12 and a third 14 reactor arranged in series and under which a pan 16 is located to contain even¬ tual leakages. Preferably reactors 10, 12, 14 are of the co¬ lumn type and have a length/diameter ratio between 2 and 25. In practical industrial arrangements three reactors 10, 12, 14 can eventually be realized each in a modular form and in¬ clude several modules to be connected in parallel, as requi¬ red, to optimize effectiveness and efficiency of the pro¬ cess. The first reactor 10 is equipped with ducts 18, 20 respecti¬ vely for the inlet and outlet of a fluid matrix to be decon¬ taminated and a duct 21 for the introduction at one of its ends 23 of an oxidative flow, such as air or oxygen. The first reactor 10 is filled (figure 2) of a particulate support 22, preferably of a porous type and chosen, as an example, from the group consisting of coal, coke, active carbon, activated and non alumina, silica gel, fuller earth, diatomee, pumice, zeolite, perlite, molecular sieves, the above dehalogenation reagent, silicates, functionalized and non ceramic, sand, clay, metal and/or syntherized powders, metal oxides, filtration media, vegetable media and their mixtures. The average granulometry of particulate support 22 is preferably between 0.01 and 250 mm. In a first phase of the process of the invention the fluid matrix to be treated is flowing, eventually with a recircu¬ lation, through reactor 10, passing through ducts 18, 20 in such a manner that support 22 is impregnated, preferably up to saturation, by contaminants, undesired substances and compounds present in the matrix. Depending upon the require¬ ments, the latter can be made flowing from the top to the bottom, as indicated in figure 1, or vice versa. Should the matrix contain halogenated organic compounds, the impregnated support 22 can also be mixed or treated with a decontaminating reagent as described above, in particular of the dehalogenating type described in previous application for patent WO94/14504 in the name of the present Applicant, whose content is incorporated by reference in this descrip¬ tion. in synthesis, a polyalkyleneglycol usable in the above deha¬ logenating reagent has, preferably, the following general formula (I) : wherein x is > 2; n is an integer of 1 to 500; R is hydro gen; a straight or branched-chain Ci-Cj o alkyl group an aral kyl or an acyl group; x and R 2 which can be the same or different between each other, represent hydrogen, straight or branched-chain C^C JO alkyl group, a C 5 -C 8 cycloalkyl or aryl group possibly substituted. The polyalkyleneglycol is even more preferably Carbowax® 6000. Nixolens® indicates a series of random copolymers of various alkene oxides in different proportions, which are distribut¬ ed by the Italian ENICHEM (Milan) Company, usable in the re¬ alization of this invention because of its high chemical activities and physical characters. Nixolens®, a common in¬ dustrial lubricant fluid, includes Nixolens®-NS; Nixolens®- VS and Nixolens®-SL. Of them, the preferred is Nixolens®-VS, such as VS-13, VS-40 and VS-2600, which contains a low per¬ centage of propylene oxide monomers and a relatively high percentage of ethylene oxide monomers. The hydroxide and alcoholate refer preferably to hydroxides and C x - C 6 alcoholate of alkali metals and alkaline-earth me¬ tals. When a polyalkyleneglycol or a copolymer of various alkene oxides, having an average molecular weight more than 6000, is combined with a non-alkali metal and an hydroxide or an alcoholate, a very efficient dehalogenation is obtained, es¬ pecially for lower halogenated contaminants, such as PCBs in Aroclor® 1242, 1254, mixtures and numerous halogenated alkylbenzenes. The mole ratio of polyalkyleneglycol or Nixolens® to halogen varies from 1:1 to 30:1 and the mole ratio of hydroxide or alcoholate to halogen ranges from 10:1 to 200:1. At this mo- le ratio, the concentration of the non-alkali metal in the reaction mixture, which consists of the decomposition rea¬ gent and the contaminated matrix, ranges from about 0.02% to 5% by weight, preferably 0.1% to 2% by weight. In parti¬ cular, when the decontaminating reagent is used to decompose halogenated organic compounds in contaminated solid matrix, such as sludge, a relatively large amount of polyglycol or Nixolens® is employed to serve as both roles of a solvent and the reagent. In general, the amount of the reagent de¬ pends upon the type and amount of halogenated contaminants present. The decontaminating reagent and the particulate support 22 can also be pre-formed on beds functionalized under the form of columns or cartridges of appropriate form and dimension in view of the different matrices, contaminants, undesired substances and compounds to be treated. Naturally, should it be required to treat a granular solid matrix contaminated by undesired compounds or substances, such as soil impregnated by hydrocarbons or a granular sup¬ port impregnated by the above exhausted waste decontaminat¬ ing reagent, the solid is directly loaded into reactor 10 without performing the impregnation. Further, an eventual treatment with fresh decontaminating reagent is performed, with the purpose of causing a removal and/or primary decom¬ position of the contaminants immobilized and/or adsorbed on the particulate support. The matrix to be contaminated and treated and the decontami¬ nating reagent can be mixed with the help of mechanical means and eventually ultra-sounds and be irradiated by a source of ultra-violet rays. The eventual impregnation and treatment phases with deconta¬ minating reagent occur at a temperature preferably included between ambient temperature and about 200°C. At the end of such phases the oxidative flow coming from duct 21 is activated (figure 2) at the end 23 of the reactor 10 and a thermoxidation reaction is primed at the opposite end 24 - as an example with an electric heater or a propane torch. Thus a mobile flame front 26 is generated in the op¬ posite direction (indicated by arrow 28) to that of the oxi¬ dative flow having a temperature of at least 1200°C, with specific thermal parameters depending upon the nature of the eventual decontaminating reagents used and the type and quan¬ tity of the undesired compounds to be treated. In particular, the temperature of the flame front or thermo¬ xidation zone can exceed 1500°C and generate a thermal/oxida¬ tive degradation with the mineralization of organic conta¬ minants adsorbed or present in the particulate support 22. The movement of the front 26, as well as the residential ti¬ me of more traditional thermal degradation processes (such as incineration) , is controlled by the oxidative flow and is such to maintain in each section of the first reactor 10 for a time included preferably between 2 and 10 seconds the conditions required by the development of the thermoxidative reaction. The thermal energy required by this reaction is obtained pri¬ marily by the oxidation of the organic contaminants them¬ selves, leaving the particulate support 22 in good measure intact, even if it is made of a carboneous material. This allows the regeneration of carboneous adsorbents such as granulated active carbon, coke or others. The support rege¬ nerated in the zone behind the flame front 26 is also cap- able of removing organic contaminants that escaped the ther¬ modestruction, giving the process of the invention its spe¬ cial and surprising self-cleaning characteristic. Moreover, the process is substantially self-sustained and energetical¬ ly self-contained, since there is not any energy supply by external sources during the normal operation. The exhaust gases and the particulate flowing out the first reactor 10 can typically contain acid compounds (chlorina¬ ted, sulphured, fluoridated and others) depending upon the type and concentration of the initial contaminants, by-pro¬ ducts derived from an incomplete oxidation, especially dur¬ ing the transitional priming phase and eventual micro pol¬ lutants. Consequently, in order to neutralize these compounds, the exhausted gases are bubbled, passing through a duct 30, at the bottom of the second reactor 12, filled with a basified liquid, such as water, a hydrocarbon, polyalkyleneglycol, Nixolens® or mixture thereof. The basified liquid can also be recirculated (in a manner not illustrated in the figures) through an adsorbing trap made of a particulate support - such as active carbon, acti¬ vated alumina, pomice or the likes - filtering and/or adsor¬ bing the said decontaminating reagent, and eventually, to recover energy, through a heat exchanger. Once the activity of the basified liquid contained by the second reactor 12 and by the trap is exhausted, the flow of gas coming from the first reactor 10 is stopped and the con¬ tent of the trap and the second reactor 12 is transferred into the first reactor 10, where it is subject to an oxida¬ tive counterflow treatment. At the same time, the second re- actor 12 can be loaded with fresh basifying liquid and be supplied again with gas coming from the first reactor 10. In order to assure the maximum level of protection for the operators and the environment, the gaseous flow getting out the second neutralizing reactor 12 is taken by a line 32 in¬ to the third reactor 14 filled preferably by a porous adsor¬ bing support, e.g. active carbon or a mixture formed by act¬ ive carbon, activated alumina and the likes. This end stage has the purpose of eliminating eventual micro traces of environment unfriendly substances, such as, e.g. sulphured compounds that can generate bad odours, as well as traces of micro pollutants, even if they have already been reduced by the preceding reactors 10, 12 to levels below the thres¬ holds prescribed by current regulations or measurable by instruments. The gas flowing out the third reactor 14 can, finally, be further flowing through a pyrolytic torch 34 prior to its discharge into the atmosphere. Once the porous support in the third reactor 14 is saturated by the substances adsorbed, the feeding of gases coming from the second reactor 12 is stopped and the third reactor 14 is regenerated, by priming an oxidative counterflow similar to what described with reference to the first reactor 10. As an alternative, the porous support of the third reactor 14 can be loaded into the first reactor 10, where it is sub¬ ject to the oxidative counterflow process. As a whole, therefore, the products of the process of the invention obtained are the gaseous effluent getting out of the torch 34, completely free of contaminants and undesired substances or compounds, and the particulate support 22 re¬ generated, remaining in the first reactor 10, where it can be reused for a new decontamination treatment cycle or from where it can be removed for further use. As a result of a variant of realization of the process of the invention, when the flame front reaches the end 23 of the first reactor 10, in which the oxidative flow is suppli¬ ed, a new priming of the thermoxidation reaction is generat¬ ed, so that the front of the flame moves now in a downward direction, in conjunction with the oxidative flow, after the first phase as a counterflow. During this second phase of thermoxidation, the flame consu¬ mes all the carbon mass (contaminants, residual reagent and eventual carboneous material present in the support) obtain¬ ing the total destruction of the contaminants adsorbed. The adoption of this variant of the process, not allowing the regeneration of the carboneous particulate support, depends, obviously, upon the specific requirements of the treatment operation. Herebelow, a few non-limitative examples of the application of the process of this invention are provided. Example 1 Regeneration and recovery of supports and exhausted reagents used for chemical dehalogenation Decontaminating reagents used in particular for chemical de¬ halogenation, as described in the above mentioned applica¬ tion for patent WO94/14504 submitted by the applicant, have emphasized an exploitation that is typically evaluated around a 10:25% of their effective potential of rheologic capacity. This limitation derives from the necessity of maintaining their level of saturation with residual concen¬ tration of halogenated aromatic compounds (i.e. PCBs) within the limits prescribed by current regulations for their clas- sification as special waste, avoiding that they are subject to the limitations and costs related to the possession, transportation and disposal of toxic/harmful wastes. With the disposal, that includes an intrinsic cost, recyclable materials are also lost, such as particulate solids even¬ tually used to support such reagents. On the contrary, the coupling of the process following the invention relative to the regeneration and recovery of used reagents in the chemical dehalogenation process already known, especially in mobile units, allows a full exploita¬ tion of the reagent and its subsequent on-site treatment, without generating practically any waste. To meet the stated objectives, four sets of experimentals were undertaken, in¬ cluding: a) characterization and quantization of exhausted waste rea¬ gent to be disposed of, brought to a saturation level about 15 times higher than the current typical value, to determine the level of residues of PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs, polyethylene- glycols (PEG) , chlorine and sodium/potassium; b) the examination of the destruction efficiency of the pro¬ cess of the invention on residual PCBs; c) determination of the efficiency of the mineralization; d) determination of the area of the adsorbing surface of the support of exhausted reagent with an examination with elec¬ tron microscope. Analysis of residual PCBs in exhausted reagent sludge The following experimental procedure has been applied: 1 gram of exhausted reagent has been dissolved in 100 ml of methanol. A known amount of methanol was introduced into a silica-gel column for a clean up with 40 ml of methylene chloride. The extract was rotavaped and twice solvent ex¬ changed with 20 ml of iso-octane. Final volume was fixed to 2 ml by N 2 stream. The aliquots were analyzed for residual PCBs by high resolution gas chromatography. A capillary gas chromatography equipped with an electron capture detector was used for this purpose. Separation of PCB congeners was carried out with a 30m x 0.25mm fused silica tubing with 95% methyl + 5 % phenyl polysiloxane stationary phase. A calibration curve for concentration ranges for analysis of PCBs was provided. In addition, a known amount of Aroclor® 1242 was added to the extract in order to identify separate components. Chromatographic peaks were identified by relative retention time matching with pentachlorobenzene. Quantization of PCBs was carried by peak area measurement relative to external calibration standard on the basis of percent contribution of individual chlorobiphenyls to Aroclor® 1242. Carbon regeneration A material balance approach (figure 3) was adopted to docu¬ ment the PCBs destruction efficiency and monitor the forma¬ tion of possible oxygenated by-products, especially PCDDs and PCDFs and evolved hydrochloric acid, during the process of the invention. The likely overall reactions leading to decomposition of PCBs are presented in figure 4: PCBs (C-Cl) + 0 2 + Carbon (C) - Carbon (C-Oxides) + Residual PCBs (C-Cl) + By-products (C-Cl) + By-products (C-Cl-O) + HCl (g) . Gasification and analysis of PCBs and PCDDs/PCDFs on Carbon An aliquot of activated carbon impregnated by a known amount (respectively 5%, 10%, and 20% w/w) of waste dehalogenation reagent was packed into a reactor and subject to the oxida¬ tive counterflow process of this invention. The reactor was made of a column having dimensions 25 mm diameter and 250 mm height, connected by transfer glass lines and a glass bowl having the function of water scrubber and two 25 ml containers used as gas traps. The oxidative flow was 2 l/min of oxygen inlet from the top of the column; pressure 2 bar; temperature 1500°C; time of counterflow cycle 3 min.. The priming was triggered in the low part of the column with a propane torch. After regeneration, a 1 g of aliquot of car¬ bon was Soxhlet extracted with 250ml of benzene for at least 20 hours to remove these strongly adsorbed components on carbon. The extract was cleaned up through a silica-gel column with 40ml of methylene chloride and reduced to appro¬ ximately 3ml with a rotary evaporator and then concentration down to 2 ml by N 2 stream. The cleaned extract was analyzed with a gaschromatography and low resolution mass spectrometer interfaced to a high resolution capillary gas chromatography. Determination of residual PCBs, possible oxygenated products and HCl in traps The traps and transfer lines were first rinsed with deioniz¬ ed water and rinse was pooled with water from impinger traps. The pooled water was twice extracted with hexane. The traps and transfer lines were also rinsed with hexane. The extracted liquid was used for chloride determination. Hydro- chloridric acid was analyzed by an ion chromatography (Model 14, Dionex, Sunnyvale, Ca) equipped with ion resin columns (separator and suppressor column) . The samples were quanti¬ tated by peak response relative to standard chlorine solu¬ tion. The hexane extract was dried by passing it over anhy¬ drous sodium sulphate. The dried extract was split into two potions. One potion was used for determination of total re¬ sidual PCBs. The other was used for determining planar PCBs and PCDDs/PCDFs. For these analysis, the hexane extract was extracted with DMSO (dimethylsuffoxide) . The DMSO extract containing planar PCBs and PCDDs/PCDFs was back extracted with 10% benzene in hexane. The benzene/hexane extract was fractioned with multilayered adsorbent column to remove in¬ terferents. The analysis of PCBs and PCDDs/PCDFs was perfor¬ med with gaschromatography and gaschromatography/mass spec¬ trometer. Carbon mass loss The experimental study was accomplished under the optimum temperature (i.e. in the area of 1500°C) to achieve minimal carbon mass loss and to produce regenerated carbon equal in adsorption capacity to that of virgin carbon while maintai¬ ning acceptable destruction efficiency for adsorbed waste reagents. For this reason, careful attention was paid to loss of carbon during regeneration process. Mass loss was measured as a function of oxygen flow rate and different loading rate of waste reagent added to carbon. Surface area determination and scanning microscopic examina¬ tion The changes in total surface area of the regenerated carbons were determined with the BET method, that measures the acti¬ vated carbon's adsorption and desorption of nitrogen under varying conditions. The BET surface area determination was carried out on a Quantasorb QS-10 nitrogen adsorption surfa¬ ce area analyzer (Quantachrome Corp. Syosset N.Y.). Results and evaluation The experimental studies were carried out to determine resi¬ dual PCBs in activated carbon impregnated by waste dehaloge¬ nation reagent - i.e. used to treat dielectric oil contami¬ nated by PCBs - and then subject to the process of this in¬ vention. Higher chlorinated PCBs congeners (such as Aroclor 1254 and 1260) are extremely reactive toward nucleophilic aromatic substitution with the above dehalogenation reagent, typical¬ ly PEG/KOH based. In such a reaction with potassium hydro¬ xide and PEG functioning as a nucleophile, lower chlorinated PCBs are formed, being them more easily biodegradable. As expected, the chromatographic profile (figure 5) of residual PCBs in waste dehalogenation reagent closely resembles that of Aroclor 1242, . For this reason, the quantitative analysis of PCB congeners in dehalogenation reagent residue was iden¬ tified with Aroclor 1242, based on weight percent contribu¬ tion of individual chlorobiphenyls. The concentration of each PCB congeners, measured in the dehalogenation reagent residue to be adsorbed on activated carbon and subject to the process of this invention, are demonstrated in table 1. The result indicated that the total concentration of resi¬ dual PCBs is approximately 774 mg/kg. It was observed that the relative concentration of trichlorobiphenyls, with re¬ spect to the total polychlorinated biphenyls, constitutes roughly 30%, tetrachlorobiphenyls about 45%, and pentachlo- robiphenyls about 20%. The development of the oxidative counterflow process includ¬ ed the optimization of variables such as oxygen flow rate, temperature and residue reagent loading rate with respect to activated carbon. It involved, in particular, balancing two parameters: minimization of the carbon mass loss and ma¬ ximization of the destruction efficiency of residual PCBs in adsorbed waste reagent. The experiments were carried out over a 5 to 20% of waste loading range of waste dehalogenation reagent with respect to activated carbon, to evaluate the two parameters above mentioned. The gaschromatographic data for destruction effi- ciency af er the oxidative counterflow process are shown in figure 6. As already mentioned, table 1 demonstrates the concentration of PCBs congeners found in a waste dehalogenation reagent, whereas table 2 shows the concentrations of a few of such congeners in activated carbon impregnated by this reagent and subsequently subject to the oxidative counterflow pro¬ cess of this invention. The comparison of tables 1 and 2 shows that the PCBs conge¬ ners are destroyed with efficiencies of 96% or better, that are progressively increasing when reducing the load of spent reagent from 20% through 5% with respect to the carbon. It was observed that the highest destruction efficiency oc¬ curs at a minimum loading rate with 10% of carbon loss, as shown in figures 7 and 8. At higher loading level, the destruction efficiency decreas¬ es and a lower carbon loss occurs, as shown again by figures 7 and 8. In addition, no micro contaminants nor toxic oxygenated po¬ lychlorinated by-products above the detection limits were detected in the trapped effluents or on the regenerated car¬ bon. Furthermore, it was obtained that a minor change in the sur¬ face area occurred after repeated regeneration cycle, indi¬ cating that the adsorptive capacity of the carbon adsorbents remains largely intact, even after being subject to the pro¬ cess of this invention. TABLE I Residual PCB congeners & concentration in exhausted reagent sludge Chlorobiphenyl Residual PCBs in Chlorobiphenyl Residual PCBs in No. Stmcture waste reagent No. Structure waste reagent (ppm) (ppm) 4 2,2'- 8.43 48 2,2' ,4,5- 18.70 10 2.6- 0.56 75 2,4,4',6- 2.51 7 2,4- 0.60 44 2.2',3,5'- ■ 62.72 9 2,5- 0.54 41 2,2\3,4- 15.62 6 2,3'- 3.31 64 2,3,4',6- 13.78 5 2,3- 0.05 40 2,2',3,3'- 17.80 8 2,4'- 6.12 74 2,4,4',5- 17.36 15 4,4'- 1.21 66 2,3 ',4,4'- 6.64 17 2,2',4- 2.30 95 2,2',3,5\6- 1 1.48 18 2,2',5- 5.02 91 2,2',3,4',6- 5.58 25 2.3 ',4- 86.90 56 2,3,3',4'- 17.28 28 2,4.4'- 33.90 60 2.3,4,4'- 14.36 31 2,4',5- 28.55 90 2.2',3,4',5- 4.10 20 2,3,3'- 2.90 101 2,2',4,5,5'- 17.02 33 2',3,4- 34.49 99 2,2',4,4',5- 75.58 53 2,2',4,6'- 4.61 97 2,2',3',4,5- 26.52 22 2,3,4'- 43.65 85 2,2',3-,4-4'- 7.21 51 2,2',4,6'- 2.94 77 3,3', 4,4'- 2.16 46 2,2'.3.6- 13.13 1 10 2,3,3',4',6- 7.34 52 2,2',5.5'- 45.25 105 2,3,3'Λ4 * - 5.50 49 2,2',4.5'- 73.44 132 2,2',3,3',4,6- 1.92 47 2,2'Λ4'- 21.40 153 2,2',4,4',5,5'- 4.35 Total 774.83 TABLE II Residual PCB congeners & concentrations in carbon after treatment Chlorobiphenyl 5% (w/w) waste 10% (w/w) waste 20% (w/w) waste No. Structure sludge in carbon sludge in carbon sludge in carbon 25 2,3 \4- - 2.4 10.0 28 2,4,4'- - 1.0 2.9 31 2,4',5- - 0.5 2.1 20 2.3,3'- - 0.02 0.3 33 2',3,4- - 0.4 5.7 53 2,2',5,6'- - 0.06 0.8 22 2.3,4'- - 0.6 1.6 51 2,2',4.6'- - 0.04 0.1 49 2,2',4,5'- 2.0 1.2 3.6 47 2,2',4,4'- - - 0.9 48 2,2',4,5- - - 0.8 75 2,4,4',6- - - 0.1 44 2,2',3,5- - - 2.4 41 2,2',3,4- - 1.2 0.7 64 2,3,4'.6- - - 0.7 91 2,2',3,4',6- - - 0.2 90 2,2',3,4',5- 0.08 0.06 0.1 101 2,2',4,5,5'- 0.36 0.2 0.5 Total 2.44 ppm 7.68 ppm 33.50 ppm Example 2 Degradation of dielectric Askarel - PCB fluids Askarel, according to the definition of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) , refers to synthetic chlo¬ rinated aromatic non-flammable hydrocarbons, used as dielec- trie materials or media in electrical devices (transformers and capacitors) . These fluids are commonly composed of mix¬ tures of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with or without trichlorobenzenes, depending upon the application require¬ ments. Specific combinations of PCBs, commonly referred to by their commercial formulations: Aroclor®, Phenclor® etc. and trichlorobenzenes, were used for particular applicat¬ ions; e.g. a combination of Aroclor 1260 and trichloroben- zene (60% and 40%, respectively) . The production, the use and the disposal of these compounds was subject to a large number of international regulations OCSE, USEPA, EEC (Direc¬ tives 76/769 - 85/467 etc.) and Italian (D.P.R. 216/88 dated 24 May 1988 etc.) for oils/fluids, machinery and equipment containing or contaminated by PCBs beyond the established threshold limits (typically > 50 mg/kg) . Due to their recalcitrant natures, disposal of PCBs, in their pure or highly concentrated form is especially proble¬ matic through a thermodestruction process. If the process does not occur at very high temperature (>1200°C) and in ri¬ gidly controlled ambient (excess of oxygen; retention time > 2 sees) , highly toxic, carcinogen, teratogen and mutagen products, such as poly-chlorinated dibenzo furans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated di-benzo-p-dioxin (PCDDs) are formed. While the chemical dehalogenation processes of the known technique are effective and/or economically advantageous on liquid and solid matrices contaminated by PCBs, within cer¬ tain limits (in typical concentrations up to 2000 mg/kg) , the process of this invention was surprisingly found advan¬ tageously applicable also for the destruction of pure Askarel-PCBs. For this application, low sulphur coke, with specific dimensions (preferably 0.2 to 5 mm) was used as very low cost particle adsorbent and energy source and was mixed with 10% of dehalogenating reagent in accordance with the previously mentioned application for patent WO94/14504 of the same applicant, to balance the degradation process. The dehalogenating reagent mixed with coke was packed into a ceramic-lined reactor column and impregnated with Askarel introduced with a shower head sprayer. Destruction efficien¬ cies of the process were evaluated at varied Askarel load¬ ings ranging from 5 to 20 percent (w/w) basis of the total weight support/coke. The process was carried out in single counterflow thermoxidation cycle at the end of which coke was recovered or in two thermoxidation phases (first as a counterflow, then forward flow) in which the coke was con¬ sumed during the forward flow phase. A mass balance approach was applied to calculate destruction efficiency. For this purpose, concentrations of residual PCBs, PCDFs, PCDDs and hydrochloric acid (HCl) were determined. Destruction effi¬ ciencies in the two-cycle operation were better than 99.999% (figures 9 and 10) . In either single and double mode, PCDDs/PCDFs concentrations were found to be below the method detection limit, which was set at 100 part per trillion (ppt) , using a gaschromatography with mass spectrometer (GC/MS) in accordance with U.S.E.P.A. protocols and the ana¬ lytical methodology of example 1. Mineralization efficiency, assessed through conversion of organic chlorine to HCl, was surprisingly found to be nearly complete at 98 percent, which was the limit of analytical methodology. Example 3 Regeneration of saturated activated carbon Activated carbon is, as known, one of the most versatile ad¬ sorbent of contaminants of various matrices (oils, drinking water, waste waters, air, etc.), but it is very expensive. When this carbon is saturated, it is necessary to provide to its disposal as a special or toxic/harmful waste with subsequent higher costs, or it is possible to decontaminate and to regenerate it in specialized centers, that are, in any case, not available in every Country. The main limits posed to this regeneration are linked to the remote location of these centers associated with high fixed and variable costs for treatment, transportation and handling. The oxi¬ dative counterflow process of this invention surprisingly demonstrated its particular efficiency in pursuing this ob¬ jective in a mode directly sequential to the adsorbing pro¬ cess, being activated as soon as the saturation of the acti¬ vated carbon with contaminants, adsorbed substances or com¬ pounds, is reached. The results obtained with a variety of granular activated carbons demonstrated that the process of this invention is capable of regenerating efficiently these materials with a minimal total loss of the materials them¬ selves, being this included between 5 and 10 percent for each treatment cycle. Exhaustive experiment tests relative to surface area and to the adsorbing capacity surprisingly demonstrated that the process enhances effectively both the adsorbing capacity and the active surface area. Results of surface area analysis for a commercially available carbon (Darco Carbon) are shown in figure 11 and were obtained following the methodologies described in example 1 with reference to the adsorption of Nitrogen (BET) . Example 4 Destruction of PCBs and recovery of Aluminum from electrical capacitors impregnated with Askarel The process of this invention was used to recover high grade electrolytic aluminum (typically > 30% in weight) from capa¬ citors built with Askarel-PCBs impregnated solid insulation. Capacitor packings are shredded to the correct size (0.5÷50 mm) and mixed to 10 percent in weight with low sulphur con- tent coke. The process, performed in a column type reactor, consumed the paper insulation and destroyed the PCBs, leav¬ ing the aluminum largely intact which was recovered through a simple sieving operation. Destruction of PCBs during the process was found to be better than 99.999 percent, measured with GC/MS, in accordance with the U.S.E.P.A. protocol and what explained in the analysis methodology of example 1. Example 5 Production of activated carbon through the conversion of the carbon of scrap tires Tens of millions of tires must be scrapped each year. Alter¬ nate uses for these materials are being pursued in research and experiments world-wide. Pyrolysis techniques have been utilized to generate useful by-products. One of such by-pro¬ ducts is carbon (>30% in weight) . The carbon obtained, how¬ ever, contains typically large amounts of contaminant and dangerous leachable organics released during traditional treatments, thus making it unfit as a carbon adsorbent. Ex¬ periments have shown that this mixture of contaminant leach¬ able organics can be conveniently destroyed through the coun¬ terflow oxidative process of this invention, with the production of activated carbon from scrap tires. The porous supports, thus obtained, surprisingly showed surface areas up to 400m 2 /gram and adsorptive capacities comparable to ma¬ ny commercial activated carbons with a very advantageous cost/benefit ratio for decontamination applications conside¬ red. The analysis methodologies used are those explained for example 1. Naturally it is intended that, maintaining the principle of the invention, the details and embodiments thereof can wide¬ ly change with respect to what was described and illustrated in the drawings, without getting out, for this reason, of the scope of this invention.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Decontamination and treatment process of a matrix, in¬ cluding the phases of: filling a first reactor (10) with a particulate support (22) , that is a solid matrix to be decontaminated and treat¬ ed or it is impregnated by a liquid or gaseous matrix to be decontaminated and treated, and - inlet at one end (23) of the above first reactor (10) of an oxidative flow and priming at the opposite end (24) a thermoxidation reaction, so that a flame front (26) is gene¬ rated moving toward an opposite direction (28) with respect to that of the oxidative flow and having a temperature of at least 1200°C, so to substantially decompose or destroy contaminants, undesired substances and compounds initially present into the matrix. 2. Process according to claim 1, in which, prior to the priming of the thermoxidation reaction, said particulate sup¬ port (22) is mixed and/or treated with a decontaminating reagent including at least one of the components A) , B) , and C) , representing A) one or more metals or their oxides, B) a polyalkyleneglycol or a Nixolen® and C) a hydroxide, a Cl- C6 alcoholate, a carbonate or bicarbonate of alkali metal or alkaline-earth. 3. Process according to claim 2, in which the said poly¬ alkyleneglycol has a formula (I) wherein x is > 2; n is an integer of 1 to 500; R is hydro¬ gen, a straight or branched-chain Ci-Cjn alkyl, an aralkyl group or an acyl group; R- ^ and R 2 are the same or different between them and are hydrogen, a straight or branched-chain C 1 -C 20 alkyl, unsubstituted or substituted by C s -C 8 cyclo¬ alkyl group or aryl group. 4. A process according to claim 3, wherein the polyalky¬ leneglycol is Carbovax® 6000. 5. A process according to claim 2, wherein the Nixolens® is selected from Nixolens®-NS; Nixolens®-vs and Nixolens®- SL. 6. A process according to claim 2, wherein the mole ratio of polyalkyleneglycol or Nixolens® to halogen in the matrix to be decontaminated and treated is included from 1:1 to 30:1, the mole ratio of hydroxide or C1-C6 alcoholate and said halogen ranges from 10:1 and 200:1 and the concentra¬ tion of the metal preferably ranges from about 0.02% to 5% by weight of the reaction mixture. 7. A process according to any one of claims 2 to 6, whe¬ rein the matrix to be decontaminated and treated and the de¬ contaminating reagent are mixed, prior to the beginning of the thermoxidation reaction, with the help of mechanical means and eventually ultrasounds. 8. A process according to any one of claims 2 to 6, whe¬ rein the matrix to be decontaminated and treated and the de¬ contaminating reagent are radiated by a source of ultravio¬ let rays, prior to the beginning of the thermoxidation reac¬ tions. 9. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the impregnation of the particulate support (22) and its eventual treatment with said decontaminating reagent oc¬ cur at a temperature between ambient temperature and about 200°C, said impregnation being performed until the saturat¬ ion of the particle support (22) is obtained. 10. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the said particulate support (22) is impregnated by the liquid or gaseous matrix to be decontaminated and treat¬ ed, prior to the beginning of the thermoxidation reaction. 11. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gas and the particulate coming out the first re¬ actor (10) at the end of the thermoxidation reaction are scrubbed through the bottom of a second reactor (12) filled with a basified liquid, such as for example, water, a hydro¬ carbon, polyalkyleneglycol, Nixolens® or mixtures thereof. 12. A process according to claim 11, wherein said basified liquid is recirculated through an adsorbing trap made of fil¬ tering particulate support and/or adsorbing and/or said decontaminating reagent, and eventually, through a heat ex¬ changer. 13. A process according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the gas coming out the second reactor (12) passes through a third reactor (14) filled with adsorbing porous material. 14. A process according to claim 13, wherein the gas coming out the third reactor (14) passes through a pyrolytic torch (34) prior to being released into the atmosphere. 15. A process according to any one of the preceding claims. wherein said reactors (10, 12, 14) are of a column type and have a length/diameter ratio between 2 and 25. 16. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the speed of the displacement of the flame front in the first reactor (10) is such to retain for a time between 2 and 10 seconds in each section of the first reactor (10) the conditions required for the development of the thermoxi¬ dation reaction. 17. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, when the flame front (26) reaches the end (23) of the first reactor (10) , in which the oxidative flow is pro¬ vided, a new priming of the thermoxidation reaction is ge¬ nerated in this end (23) , in such a manner to have the flame front (26) moving forward in the same direction of the oxi¬ dative flow. 18. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said particulate support (22) is porous and it is chosen from the group consisting of carbon, coke, activated carbon, activated and non alumina, silica gel, fuller earth, diatomee, pomice, zeolite, perlite, molecular sieves, said decontaminating reagent, silicates, functional ceramic and non, sand, clay, metallic and/or sintered powders, metal oxides, filtration media, vegetable media and mixtures thereof. 19. A process according to claim 18, wherein the average granulometry of said particulate support (22) is between 0.01 and 250 mm. 20. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said oxidative flow is of air or oxygen. 21. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one or more of the following functions are performed in sequence: - decontamination of the matrix from contaminants, undesired substances and compounds initially present, such as elimina¬ tion of PCBs from oil; - functional regeneration of the matrix and/or of the parti¬ culate support as required by operational necessities, such as the removal of acid, polar and oxidized by-products from oils and fluids and elimination of contaminants from satura¬ ted adsorbent supports; - recovery of materials and/or resources, such as metals like aluminum, copper and iron from components and equip¬ ment, such as capacitors and transformers contaminated by PCBs; - decomposition and/or destruction of contaminants, unde¬ sired substances and compounds, initially present in the matrix, such as Askarel based on PCB/TCB or CFC. 22. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the matrix to be contaminated and treated is: - water, such as, for example, drinking, effluent, process or cooling water; - a liquid, such as, for example, solvents, chemical inter¬ mediates, fluids from processes or foodstuff, fluids or oils with a dielectric, diathermic or hydraulic function, lubri¬ cants with a mineral, vegetable or animal base and mixtures thereof; - air, such as, for example, coming from work ambients, from the environment or a process; - a technical or process gas; - a solid, such as, for example, an adsorbing or filtering support, a process support, earth, soil, a component or an integral equipment; - a waste or residue, such as, for example, domestic, spe¬ cial, toxic, harmful or medical wastes; - a bio-filter. 23. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said contaminants, undesired substances and com¬ pounds, present in a pure or diluted form, are: - halogenated aromatic compounds, such as, for example, PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs, PBBs, DDTs, DDEs; - dangerous, toxic, harmful, carcinogen, teratogen, mutagen organic compounds, and dangerous contaminants, chlorofluoro¬ carbons, sulphur esafluoride or polyaromatic hydrocarbons; - aggressive chemical agents, bacteriological agents, virus¬ es, retroviruses, fungi and their mixtures, carried on licruid, gaseous, solid or biological matrices; - derivatives of polar and/or oxided and/or degraded by-pro¬ ducts; 24. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said particulate support (22) and/or decontaminat¬ ing reagent are pre-formed on functional beds under the form of columns or cartridges. 25. Regenerated particulate support (22) obtainable at the end of a process according to any one of the preceding claims.

Inventors: KAPILA SHUBHENDER, TUMIATTI WANDER, KAPILA, SHUBHENDER, TUMIATTI, WANDER
Applicants: KAPILA SHUBHENDER, SEA MARCONI TECHNOLOGIES SAS, TUMIATTI WANDER, KAPILA, SHUBHENDER, SEA MARCONI TECHNOLOGIES DI WANDER TUMIATTI S.A.S., TUMIATTI, WANDER
Application year: 1996
Main classification: A62D3
IPC codes: A62D3, A62D101