METHOD FOR EXTRACTION OF HYDROCARBON FUELS OR CONTAMINANTS USING ELECTRICAL ENERGY AND CRITICAL FLUIDS

摘要

The cleaning of an industrial tank is accomplished by applying a combination of electrical energy and critical fluids. The process comprising the steps of:
transmitting electrical energy into the tank to heat the contents of the tank to a first predetermined temperature;
providing critical fluids with reactants or catalysts into said tank for diffusion into the contents of said tank at a predetermined pressure;
transmitting electrical energy into said tank to heat its contents and the critical fluids to a second predetermined temperature to initiate reaction of the reactants in the critical fluids with a portion of the tank contents, causing hydrocarbons and contaminants to be released for extraction as a vapor, liquid or dissolved in said critical fluids. An RF generator may provide electromagnetic energy, and the critical fluids may include a combination of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), with reactants of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) or oxygen (O 2 ).