Claims
- 1. A process for purifying a dense dielectric fluid containing a contaminant comprising applying a plasma to a dense dielectric fluid containing a contaminant at a pressure, temperature, and for a time sufficient to oxidize the contaminant.
- 2. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the fluid is carbon dioxide.
- 3. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the plasma is created by a high voltage and high frequency electrical discharge.
- 4. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the electrical discharge is applied in pulses.
- 5. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the electrical discharge is applied continuously.
- 6. The method in accordance with claim 5 further comprising adding a reactant to the fluid before applying the plasma.
- 7. The method in accordance with claim 6 wherein the reactant is water, argon, nitrous oxide, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen or combinations thereof.
- 8. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the plasma is applied in a packed bed reactor.
- 9. The method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the reactor is packed with non-conductive solid particles.
- 10. The method in accordance with claim 9 wherein the solid particles are pure or metal impregnated activated alumina particles, barium oxide particles, silica gel particles, glass particles, ceramic particles, titanium dioxide particles, zeolites or combinations thereof.
- 11. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the plasma is created by acoustic energy.
- 12. The method in accordance with claim 11 wherein the plasma is applied in a packed bed reactor.
- 13. The method in accordance with claim 11 further comprising adding a reactant to the dielectric fluid before applying the plasma.
- 14. The method in accordance with claim 13 wherein the reactant is water, argon, nitrous oxide, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen or combinations thereof.
- 15. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the dense fluid is pre-treated prior to applying the plasma.
- 16. The method in accordance with claim 15 wherein the dense fluid in pretreated using silica gel reverse phase separation.
- 17. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the fluid has a dielectric constant between 1 and 80.
- 18. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the pressure is in the range between 3 atm and 300 atm.
- 19. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the temperature is in the range between −20° C. and 350° C.
- 20. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the frequency is in the range between 50 KHz and 4 MHz and the voltage is in the range between 1 KV and 200 KV.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. Section 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/312,763 filed Aug. 17, 2001 and entitled Method, process and apparatus for high pressure plasma catalytic treatment of dense fluids, which application is hereby incorporated by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60312763 |
Aug 2001 |
US |