Method of reducing the nickel content in waste water

Claim 3

The method of claim 1 where the mixture in (1) comprises 10 to 1000 mg of the material selected in (a) per liter of dilute waste water, and 2 to 10 moles of dimethyl glyoxime for each atom of dissolved nickel.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1 wherein the insoluble matter separated in (4) includes nickel and its compounds, particulate carbon, soot, and the metals and sulfides of the metals V and/or Fe.

Claim 5

The method of claim 1 provided with the added step of introducing a flocculent/coagulant into the waste water in (1).

Claim 6

The method of claim 4 wherein said flocculent/coagulant is mixed with the waste water in (1) in the amount of about 1 to 10 parts per million.

Claim 7

The method of claim 4 wherein said flocculent-coagulant is a cationic polyelectrolyte.

Claim 8

The method of claim 1 wherein the solids-liquid separation means in (4) is selected from the group consisting of filter, centrifuge, hydroclone, settler, clarifier, and combinations thereof.

Claim 9

The method of claim 7 wherein said solids-liquid separation means comprises a plurality of hydroclones connected in parallel and/or series.

Claim 10

The method of claim 1 wherein said dilute waste water stream includes formates and the subject method is provided with the additional steps of mixing with the waste water in (1) a ferrous compound measured in moles in the amount of 1.2 to 10 times the moles of total cyanides in the waste water; and precipitating out in (3) water insoluble inorganic CN-containing sludge, iron hydroxide and iron sulfide, as well as said nickel-dimethyl glyoxime complex.

Claim 11

The method of claim 9 provided with the additional steps of increasing the pH of the upgraded water stream from (4) to a minimum of 11, when the pH is below 11; stripping ammonia from the water stream; introducing the NH 3 -stripped water stream into a biological reactor after adjusting the pH to a value in the range of about 6 to 8, and converting said formates to CO 2 ; and removing biological residue from the biological reactor and a separate upgraded water stream.

Claim 12

The method of claim 1 where the temperature in (1) is in the range of about 200°-220° F.

Claim 13

The method of claim 1 wherein said waste water stream comprises at least a portion of the grey water, with or without degassing, from a decanter that is provided with water from the quench cooling and/or scrubbing operation of a partial oxidation process for the production of synthesis gas, reducing gas, or fuel gas by the partial oxidation of a liquid hydrocarbonaceous fuel; and provided with the step of recycling at least a portion of the upgraded water from (4) to the quench cooling and/or scrubbing operation of said partial oxidation process.

Claim 14

The method of claim 1 wherein said waste water stream comprises a blow-down stream from the gas quench cooling and/or scrubbing operation of a partial oxidation process for the production of synthesis gas, reducing gas, or fuel gas by the partial oxidation of a liquid hydrocarbonaceous fuel, oxygen-containing fuel, or a slurry of solid carbonaceous fuel with a water and/or liquid hydrocarbon carrier; and provided with the step of recycling at least a portion of the upgraded water from (4) to the quench cooling and/or scrubbing operation of said partial oxidation process.

Claim 15

The method of claim 1 provided with the steps of recycling at least a portion of said upgraded water stream from (4) to a gas quench and/or scrubbing zone, and discharging the remainder from the system.

Claim 16

The method of claim 10 provided with the step of recycling at least a portion of said upgraded water stream from the biological reactor to a gas quench and/or scrubbing zone, and discharging the remainder from the system.

Claim 17

The method of claim 1 wherein said ionizable polysulfide salt is selected from the group consisting of NaS x , KS x , LiS x , NH 4 S x , and mixtures thereof, where x=2 to 8.

Claim 18

The method of claim 1 where the pH of the waste water mixture in (2) is adjusted to a value in the range of over 7 to 11 by the addition of NaOH.

Claim 19

In the process for the production of hot raw synthesis gas, reducing gas, or fuel gas by the partial oxidation of a nickel containing liquid hydrocarbonaceous fuel with a free-oxygen containing gas and optionally with a supplemental temperature moderator, quench cooling and/or scrubbing said hot raw gas streams with water in a quench cooling and/or scrubbing zone, processing the quench and scrubbing water and recovering a dilute stream of grey water from a decanter that substantially comprises water and including at least one of the following water soluble and/or insoluble impurities: nickel and nickel compounds, metals and the sulfides of the metals V and/or Fe, particulate carbon, soot, cyanide, formates, halides, and ammonia: the improved process for reducing the content of soluble and insoluble nickel from the grey water along with at least a portion of the other soluble and insoluble impurities comprising: (1) mixing said grey water with or without degassing and at a temperature in the range of about 60° to 220° F. with the following: (a) a water soluble material selected from the group consisting of HCHO, alkali metal polysulfide or ammonium polysulfide, and H 2 O 2 ; (b) dimethyl glyoxime; (c) ferrous sulfate or ferrous chloride, and (d) a base material so as to adjust the pH of the grey water mixture to a desired value in the range of over 7 to 11; wherein a sufficient amount of the material from (a) is mixed with the waste water so that substantially all of the nickel in the soluble nickel compounds in the waste water is converted to a form which can be precipitated by the dimethyl glyoxime from (b); (2) precipitating out from the grey water mixture in (1) the following water insoluble materials: nickel-dimethyl glyoxime complex, an inorganic CN-containing sludge, iron hydroxide, and iron sulfide; and (3) separating the water insoluble materials precipitated in (2) and at least a portion of the water insoluble matter comprising nickel and its compounds, particulate carbon, soot, and the metals and the sulfides of the metals V and/or Fe from the water stream in at least one conventional solids-liquid separation means to produce a stream of clarified water having a total nickel content of less than 1 milligram per liter.

Claim 20

In the process for the production of hot raw synthesis gas, reducing gas, or fuel gas by the partial oxidation of a nickel containing liquid hydrocarbonaceous fuel with a free-oxygen containing gas and optionally with a supplemental temperature moderator, quench cooling and/or scrubbing said hot raw gas streams with water in a quench cooling and/or scrubbing zone, processing the quench and scrubbing water and recovering a dilute stream of grey water from a decanter that substantially comprises water and including at least one of the following water soluble and/or insoluble impurities: nickel and nickel compounds, metals and the sulfides of the metals V and/or Fe, particulate carbon, soot, cyanide, formates, halides, and ammonia: the improved process for reducing the content of soluble and insoluble nickel from the grey water along with at least a portion of the other soluble and insoluble impurities comprising: (1) mixing said grey water with or without degassing and at a temperature in the range of about 60° to 220° F. with the following: (a) a water soluble material selected from the group consisting of HCHO, alkali metal polysulfide or ammonium polysulfide, and H 2 O 2 ; (b) dimethyl glyoxime; (c) ferrous sulfate or ferrous chloride, and (d) a base material so as to adjust the pH of the grey water mixture to a desired value in the range of over 7 to 11; wherein a sufficient amount of the material from (a) is mixed with the waste water so that substantially all of the nickel in the soluble nickel compounds in the waste water is converted to a form which can be precipitated by the dimethyl glyoxime from (b); (2) precipitating out from the grey water mixture in (1) the following water insoluble materials: nickel-dimethyl glyoxime complex, an inorganic CN-containing sludge, iron hydroxide, and iron sulfide; and (3) separating the water insoluble materials precipitated in (2) and at least a portion of the water insoluble matter comprising nickel and its compounds, particulate carbon, soot, and the metals and the sulfides of the metals V and/or Fe from the water stream in at least one conventional solids-liquid separation means to produce a stream of clarified water having a total nickel content of less than 1 milligram per liter.

Claim 21

The process of claim 18 provided with the additional step of recycling at least a portion of the clarified water stream from (3) to said quench cooling and/or scrubbing zone.

Claim 22

The process of claim 18 provided with the additional steps of (4) increasing the pH of the clarified water stream from (3) to a minimum of 11, when the pH is below 11; and (5) steam stripping ammonia from the clarified water stream from (4) to provide a stream of NH 3 -stripped clarified water.

Claim 23

The process of claim 20 provided with the additional steps of (6) introducing the NH 3 -stripped clarified water stream from (5) into a conventional biological reactor after adjusting the pH to a value in the range of about 6 to 8, and consuming or converting therein organic matter to carbon dioxide and a biological residue suitable for disposal; and (7) removing the biological residue from the biological reactor, and a separate upgraded water stream.

Claim 24

The process of claim 21 provided with the step of recycling at least a portion of the upgraded water stream from (7) to the gas quench and/or scrubbing zone, and discharging the remainder from the system.

Claim 25

The process of claim 18 wherein (1) a flocculent/coagulant is also mixed with the grey water in the amount of about 1 to 10 parts per million.

Claim 26

The process of claim 18 wherein the solids-liquid separation means in (3) is selected from the group consisting of filter, centrifuge, hydroclone, settler, clarifier, and combinations thereof.

Claim 27

The process of claim 24 wherein said solids-liquid separation means comprises a plurality of hydroclones connected in parallel and/or series.

Claim 28

The process of claim 18 where the mixture in (1) comprises about 10 to 1000 milligrams of a material selected in (a) for each liter of grey water, 2 to 10 moles of dimethyl glyoxime for each atom of dissolved nickel, and ferrous sulfate or ferrous chloride measured in moles in the amount of about 1.2 to 10 times the moles of total cyanides in the grey water.

Claim 29

The process of claim 18 wherein said liquid hydrocarbonaceous fuel is selected from the group consisting of liquid hydrocarbon fuel and oxygen-containing hydrocarbonaceous fuel.