Abstract: Polychlorinated biphenyls are chemically degraded by contact with a Lewis acid catalyst in a non-aqueous liquid medium, in the presence of a cation which combines with the chlorines on the PCBs to form a solid chloride of the cation which will precipitate out from the liquid medium. Preferred Lewis acids are metal halides, particularly a combination of aluminum chloride and ferric chloride, and the preferred cation is potassium in the form of potassium hydroxide. The process is susceptible to both batch and continuous operation.

Abstract: Used drilling muds containing substantial quantities of organic liquids and water-soluble salts are treated to render them environmentally acceptable for disposal purposes, by drying the muds to evaporate all liquids, aqueous and non-aqueous, preferably in a shell-and-tube type heat exchanger through which they are conveyed and held in suspension by screw conveyors, and preferably with the vapors thus generated flowing in a direction counter-current to the mud. Water-soluble salts are removed from the dried mud components by dissolving with water, and the vapors are condensed and phase separated for further purification and re-use if desired.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for the continuous non-oxidative thermal decomposition of heat-dissociable organic matter to a solid carbon residue, particularly activated carbon, and a mixture of gaseous products, without substantial coking or tar formation. The apparatus involve a cylindrical rotating drum in a substantially horizontal position, into which feed material is introduced at one end and products recovered at the other end. An axial temperature gradient, increasing in the direction of flow, is maintained within the drum, enabling the exercise of a high degree of control over the reaction to fully convert the feed into the desired products.