Transpiring Wall Reactor for the Supercritical Water Oxidation Process: Operational Results, Modeling and Scaling

The Transpiring Wall Reactor (TWR) is a promising reactor developed for the Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) process in order to overcome salt deposition and corrosion problems. The TWR consists of a reaction chamber surrounded by a wall through which clean water circulates, forming a cool, protective film against corrosive agents, salt deposition and scaling and high temperatures. The University of Valladolid (UVa) has developed and tested successfully a TWR at pilot plant scale (Feeds of 20 L/h). Conversions (TOC removals) higher than 99.9% has been obtained working with residence times lower than one minute and reaction temperatures between 600 and 700oC. The TWR have been scaled up basing on the experimental results obtained and in a mathematical model carried out to reproduce the behavior of this reactor. In this paper, the new configuration of the reactor is presented and the preliminary experiments shown. The implantation of the new reactor in the demonstration scale pilot plant situated in Santovenia de Pisuerga (Valladolid, Spain) is studied. Simulations results of the behavior of the reactor working with flows of 200 kg/h and using oxygen as an oxidant, prior to their implementation in the demonstration plant are also shown.