METHOD AND PLANT FOR TREATMENT OF ASBESTOS-CONTAINING WASTE MATERIALS IN SUPERCRITICAL WATER

Method for destroying asbestos in mainly organic matrix asbestos-containing waste (ACW), which comprises, according to claim 1 , the steps of: preparing the asbestos-containing waste; preparing a supercritical aqueous phase; allowing asbestos and the primarily organic matrix of the asbestos-containing waste to react with the aqueous phase for a time t in an appropriate reactor at predetermined pressure P and temperature T to maintain the aqueous phase in supercritical conditions; cooling and condensing the aqueous phase flowing out of the reactor; separating said aqueous phase from any entrained solid product therein. The method is characterized in that the step in which the supercritical aqueous phase is prepared comprises an additional step in which at least one oxidizing compound is added in a predetermined concentration C1 and in that the pressure P is in a range from 25 to 27 MPa and the temperature T is in a range from 6000C to 650°C, for asbestos and the organic binder to be simultaneously destroyed.