LABORATORY EQUIPMENT FOR AUTOTHERMAL REFORMING OF ORGANIC MATTER IN SUPERCRITICAL WATER

Abstract

The ability of water to dissolve organic substances is very limited. However, its ability to dissolve them changes if pressure and temperature values reach the so-called critical point (p = 22.06MPa, T = 373.95 °C). Fluid water in this state is called supercritical water (SCW), and values of its physical properties are included among the values of such properties for liquid phase and gaseous phase. Various types of organic matter can be treated in SCW, and it is especially useful for materials that cannot be treated cost-effectively with conventional technologies (incineration, etc.). Suitable input materials are mainly industrial waste or biomass with high water content. Conventional processing of these materials requires energy-intensive drying or densification. Processing the inputs in SCW completely removes these problems, since sufficient water content is a prerequisite for creating a suitable environment for efficient operation of the system. In this paper, glycerol as a by-product of alternative fuel production was chosen for evaluation in the SCW autothermal reforming cycle. The paper analyses the influence of several processing parameters on the operation of model laboratory equipment.