Patent ID: 7438872

Claim:
In a steam oxidation apparatus having a reactor for allowing steam oxidation reaction to proceed, for steam-oxidizing an object-to-be-oxidized held therein, said steam oxidation apparatus characterized by having: a steam-accompanied inert gas system which comprises an H 2 O bubbler containing pure water, allowing an inert gas to blow and bubble in said contained pure water to thereby produce a steam-accompanied inert gas in which an inert gas is accompanied by steam; a first gas pipe for allowing an inert gas to blow into said H 2 O bubbler at a predetermined flow rate; and a second gas pipe for sending said steam-accompanied inert gas through a first automatic open/close valve to a gas inlet port of the reactor; and an inert gas system having a third gas pipe for sending an inert gas at a predetermined flow rate through a second automatic open/close valve to a gas inlet port of the reactor; wherein said H 2 O bubbler, said second gas pipe between said H 2 O bubbler and said gas inlet port of the reactor, and said first and second automatic open/close valves are housed in a thermostatic oven wherein an inner temperature of said thermostatic oven is set not lower than the condensation temperature of steam in said steam-accompanied inert gas, and not higher than the boiling point of said pure water contained in said H 2 O bubbler.