Wet oxidation of soot
View Patent ↗A system and method for the treatment of soot containing an insoluble metal. The soot is formed into a soot slurry and a characteristic of the soot slurry is maintained to solubilize at least a portion of the metal to act as a catalyst. The soot slurry with the soluble metal is wet oxidized.
1. A process for the destruction of volatile organic carbon present in a slurry comprising:
degasifying a combustion fuel comprising a transition metal to generate a slurry comprising volatile organic carbon and the transition metal;
detecting the pH of the slurry comprising volatile organic carbon and the transition metal;
solubilizing at least a portion of the transition metal in the slurry to generate a homogeneous catalyst;
oxidizing the slurry at a subcritical temperature and a superatmospheric pressure in the presence of the homogeneous catalyst to produce an effluent having a reduced volatile organic carbon content; and
maintaining the pH level of the slurry at a predetermined level to maintain solubility of the transition metal.
2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the slurry comprises soot.
3. The process of claim 2 , further comprising recovering one or more transition metals from the effluent.
4. The process of claim 3 , wherein recovering one or more transition metals comprises recovering at least one of vanadium, nickel, iron, and molybdenum.
5. The process of claim 4 , wherein recovering one or more transition metals comprises dewatering the effluent to produce a filter cake.
6. The process of claim 5 , wherein dewatering the effluent produces a filter cake having a solids concentration greater than about 15 weight percent.
7. The process of claim 6 , wherein dewatering the effluent produces a filter cake having a solids concentration greater than about 25 weight percent.
8. The process of claim 1 , wherein solubilizing at least a portion of the transition metal in the slurry comprises adjusting the pH level of the aqueous slurry.