Stop Paying to Dispose of Waste. Start Getting Paid for It.

Subcritical water hydrolysis exploits a property of liquid water that most waste treatment technologies ignore: between 100°C and 374°C, under sufficient pressure to remain liquid, water's ionic product (K_w) increases by several orders of magnitude. This transforms ordinary water into a highly reactive ionic solvent — capable of breaking peptide bonds in proteins, hydrolysing ester linkages in fats, and cleaving glycosidic bonds in carbohydrates — all without adding acids, alkalis, or enzymes.

The practical consequence is total organic breakdown in 30 minutes. Proteins hydrolyse into free amino acids. Fats saponify into fatty acids and glycerol. Carbohydrates dissolve. Pathogenic organisms — bacteria, viruses, prions — are denatured by the combination of temperature, pressure, and ionic chemistry. The process achieves >99.9999% (6-log) pathogen reduction, the highest level tested under IStAATT protocols for non-incineration medical waste treatment.

Critically, because there is no combustion, there is no formation of dioxins, furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or nitrogen oxides. The sealed pressure vessel prevents any gas release during processing. What enters the vessel as contaminated waste exits as three distinct outputs: a solid fraction (sterile compost or, where plastics are present, high-calorie bio-coal at ~5,000 kcal/kg), an amino acid-rich liquid fertiliser, and clean effluent that typically meets discharge consent standards.

PHANTOM's spherical reactor is fabricated from pharmaceutical-grade SUS 304 stainless steel, rated to ≤22.1 MPa operating pressure. The spherical geometry distributes pressure forces evenly across the vessel wall — a key reason the system requires major maintenance only every 10 years under continuous-cycle operation. A kerosene boiler generates the steam required to reach operating temperature; total fuel cost is approximately £33 (~$42 USD) per 3-tonne cycle, equating to £11–£16 per tonne at rated throughput.

This combination — complete sterilisation, zero harmful emissions, commercially valuable outputs, and low operating cost — is why PHANTOM is being deployed in hospitals, livestock facilities, food processors, and industrial operations across Europe and Asia. It does what incineration does (sterilise and reduce volume) without any of what incineration creates (toxic emissions, carbon liability, planning opposition, hazardous residues).