Patent ID: 6958428

Claim:
A process for the low temperature, non-incineration decontamination of contaminated materials containing hazardous agents, the process comprising: (a) contacting the contaminated materials and the hazardous agents with steam at substantially ambient pressure in a substantially dry first heated vessel for a period of at least about 15 minutes, the steam being at a temperature of at least about 560° C., whereby essentially all of the hazardous agents are removed from the contaminated materials; (b) removing a first gaseous discharge stream containing hazardous agents from the first heated vessel, the first gaseous discharge stream comprising a condensible moiety and a non-condensible moiety; (c) heating the first gaseous discharge stream at substantially ambient pressure in a substantially dry second vessel to at least about 500° C. and maintaining the first gaseous discharge stream in the second vessel of at least about 500° C. for a period of at least about one second in an atmosphere containing sufficient steam so that at least about 99.99 wt. % percent of the hazardous agents within the first gaseous discharge stream are converted to non-hazardous agents; (d) removing a second gaseous discharge stream containing a reduced concentration of hazardous agents from the second vessel, the second gaseous discharge stream comprising a condensible moiety and a non-condensible moiety; (e) passing the second gaseous discharge stream through a condenser wherein the condensible moiety of the second gaseous discharge stream is condensed to condensate having a concentration of hazardous agents less than about 100 mg/l; (f) increasing the pH of the condensate to at least about 8.0 so as to reduce the concentration of hazardous agents within the condensate to less than about 1.0 mg/l; and (g) treating the non-condensible moiety of the second gaseous discharge stream with a chemical absorbent, so that the concentration of hazardous agents within the non-condensible moiety of the second gaseous discharge stream is reduced to less than about 1.0 mg/m 3 at standard temperature and pressure.