Demonstration of the MODAR supercritical water oxidation process

Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation was Program Manager for the development and demonstration of a supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) process. The program sponsored by the Assistant Secretary of Conservation and Renewable Energy through the Office of Industrial Energy Efficiency and the Industrial Energy Efficiency Division, was initiated through a cooperative agreement in 1988. Stone & Webster, working with MODAR, Inc., of Natick, Massachusetts recently completed the fabrication and testing of a 500 gallon-per-day pilot plant of the MODAR SCWO process. Over an eight-month demonstration program, the MODAR process, has proven itself to be an effective treatment for aqueous wastes including hazardous and toxic materials. In addition, the process, with its patented vessel reactor system, has the potential for the treatment of mixed waste materials to destroy any organic constituents and concentrate most radionuclides.