1. Positioning the wet oxidation process

1.1 Special properties of subcritical water

Water, in its liquid state under ambient conditions of pressure and temperature, can be used to carry out advanced oxidation reactions of organic matter under these conditions (various oxidizing agents are then used: oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, Fenton's reagent, ultraviolet radiation...), but also at higher temperatures, to improve the degradation efficiency of the process. In this case, in order to avoid rapid total vaporization of the aqueous phase, which would lead to a drastic drop in reaction kinetics, an increase in pressure is necessary, and operation is then in a zone with an equilibrium between a gas phase and a liquid phase. In the pressure/temperature diagram of pure water, the line of coexistence of the liquid and vapor phases...