Superficial Water Oxidation of Pulp and Paper Mill Sludge (As an Alternative to Incineration), 1996 Minimum Effluent Mills Symposium Proceedings

Carol A. Blaney 1 , Lixiong Li 2 , Earnest F. Gloyna 2 , and Shafi U. Hossain 2

1 Kimberly-Clark Corporation

2 The University of Texas at Austin

This paper summarizes recent research by Kimberly-Clark Corporation and The University of Texas at Austin in a new technology referred to as “Supercritical Water Oxidation”(SCWO), an emission-free and discharge-free alternative to incineration, to treat wastes such as pulp and paper millsludges. SCWO has been shown to be an effective method to treat pulp and paper mill sludge, converting it to usableby-products of clean water (for reuse in paper mill),carbon dioxide gas, and dioxin-free ash (mostly CaCO3 ,which can be used as paper filler or cement aggregate).The majority of all organics are destroyed , including polychlorinated biphenyls and 99+% of chlorinated organicssuch as dioxins and dibenzofurans. Economic studiesindicate that a commercial SCWO process can compete on acost basis with fluidized bed incineration. A new reactor design is discussed which avoids the problem of corrosion.