Hydrothermal purification process
A process and system for reducing contaminants contained in a contaminated feedstock comprising mixing the contaminated feedstock with water and at least one of metal scavengers or reactants, to form a feedstock-water-reactant mixture, feeding the mixture under pressure into a hydrothermal purification reactor, wherein the mixture is subject to heat, pressure, and turbulent flow conditions to cause rapid reaction of the inorganic contaminants with the metal scavengers or reactants to form inorganic salts that partition into an aqueous phase and maintaining the temperature, pressure, and turbulent flow conditions of the feedstock-water-reactant mixture for a predetermined space time to prevent the organic portion of the feedstock in the mixture from undergoing a conversion reaction and to form a hydrothermal reactor effluent; and separating the effluent into the aqueous phase containing salts of the inorganic contaminants and an organic phase that contains a lower concentration of inorganic contaminants than the contaminated feedstock.
1 . A process for reducing contaminants contained in a contaminated feedstock comprising:
equalizing a flow of the contaminated feedstock using a first equalization tank and a flow of a water feed using a second equalization tank;
pressurizing the contaminated feedstock and the water feed;
heating the contaminated feedstock and the water feed;
mixing the contaminated feedstock with the water feed;
prior to mixing the contaminated feedstock and the water feed, mixing the water feed with one or more reactants to form a feedstock-water-reactant mixture;
heating the feedstock-water-reactant mixture;
feeding the feedstock-water-reactant mixture into a hydrothermal purification reactor, wherein the feedstock-water-reactant mixture maintains a liquid hydrothermal phase and is subject to temperature, pressure, and turbulent flow conditions at a Reynolds number of at least 2000,
wherein the hydrothermal purification reactor has an operating pressure within a range of 225 psig to 3,000 psig and an operating temperature within a range of 225° C. to 350° C.;
depressurizing a hydrothermal reactor effluent;
cooling the hydrothermal reactor effluent; and
separating the hydrothermal reactor effluent into an aqueous phase containing inorganic contaminants and an organic phase that contains a lower concentration of the inorganic contaminants than the contaminated feedstock.
2 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the hydrothermal purification reactor comprises a tubular plug-flow reactor (PFR).
3 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the hydrothermal purification reactor is configured to be operated as one of an isothermal reactor or an adiabatic reactor.
4 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the one or more reactants comprises acid or salt solutions, or a combination of acid and salt solutions.
5 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the operating temperature is within a range of 300° C. to 350° C.
6 . The process of claim 1 , wherein a space time of the feedstock-water-reactant mixture in the hydrothermal purification reactor is within a range of approximately from 10 seconds to 15 minutes.