Stone & Webster Engineering Corp.

Stephen Z Masoomian

Sabah A Kurukchi

Joseph M Gondolfe

A process for pre-treating a spent caustic stream prior to oxidation which includes countercurrent multi-stage elevated temperature solvent extraction of dissolved organic material from the spent caustic using a solvent to yield a spent caustic raffinate containing only residual amounts of organic solute and steam distilling the spent caustic raffinate to remove the residual organic solutes, yielding a pretreated spent caustic stream substantially free of organic material which is then subjected to wet air oxidation and thereafter to ozonolysis to yield a wastewater stream having a low COD and BOD, which is neutralized to a pH of 8.5 to 9.0.

Spent caustic pretreatment and enhanced oxidation process

The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating and regenerating a spent caustic solution at ambient temperatures which includes means for oxidizing the spent caustic stream with an air/ozone gas mixture, followed by irradiating the oxidized spent caustic stream with a broad range of ultraviolet radiation and finally filtering the spent caustic solution.

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Houston, TX, United States of America

Stephen Z Masoomian