SBIR-STTR Award

Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) is the water-based firefighting agent of choice in military and civilian applications. No satisfactory disposal method has been identified.Liquid Carbonic proposes a treatment for AFFF that will also work for other polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) and their derivatives. The strength of the C-F bond is the ultimate problem in disposing of PFCs and residues. The very severe conditions of supercritical water oxidation achieved in a hydrothermal flame zone reactor (HFZR) accomplish this objective. Fluorine scavenging by calcium ions is achieved in a salt separation module (SSM) that is integral to the process. Temperature, phase and salt solubility vary in the SSM, allowing withdrawal of a calcium fluoride brine.

The Air Force and other government and private entities must safely dispose of Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Waste (AFFF).The waste is problematic due to a high fluorine content. The thermal decomposition of AFFF by supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) was accomplished in a continuous flow reactor during Phase I demonstrating >99% AFFF conversion efficiency. Phase II will build on the bench-scale work by characterizing the decomposition reaction kinetics in order to develop design equations for scaling the process. Additional work focuses on alternative reactor designs to minimize technical problems related to the corrosive environment produced by SCWO. These tasks will be completed in conjunction with the overall effort directed towards the design, construction and operation of a pilot scale system.