A modular regenerative hydrothermal reactor, method, and
system for carrying out chemical reactions under aggressive conditions are disclosed. The reactor comprises a modular tubular shell with an array of injection / bleed ring devices that carry out chemical reactions and permit the formation of a protective fluid barrier to isolate the
chemical reaction from the reactor. The
reactor system and injection / bleed ring devices are configured for the radial injection of reactants, the tangential injection, bleeding, and regeneration of a protective fluid barrier, and the controlled response and / or transitioning of the
chemical reaction from an array of devices operating in fluid communication. Methods for a protective fluid barrier comprising initiator, inhibitor, and / or insulator
chemical species are disclosed. Reactor and method embodiments are disclosed for subcritical and supercritical water reactions, for applications such as the mineralization of recalcitrant organic compounds such as PFAS in the presence of inorganic compounds (e.g., using
supercritical water oxidation SCWO). This disclosure permits advantages such as 1) simple
modular design to improve safety, operational flexibility, and
scalability, 2) reduction in
corrosion,
solid / salt accumulation, and thermal stress from radial reactant injection in combination with
chemical species blend injection and bleed, and 3) reactor wall isolation using a
chemical species blend to improve
system safety, reaction
efficacy, and controlled response to maintain the reactor wall integrity (e.g., at a low temperature to meet ASME Section VIII, Div 1 and / or ASME B31.1) permitting the use of more readily available, cost-effective alloys.