Environmentally benign destruction of waste energetic materials (EMs)

Studies by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers during 1991-1997 involving various methods for the destruction of waste generated by pyrotechnic, explosive and propellant materials are described. The methods assessed and evaluated include controlled incineration (CI), wet air oxidation (WAO), and hydrothermal oxidation (HTO), using a U.S. Army triple-base propellant as the initial common standard for all destructor comparative testing. All three of these methods has special feed line restrictions requiring mechanical diminution and comminution of the energetic material which, for safety reasons, cannot be used with contaminated heterogeneous production wastes. Supercritical fluid extraction with carbon dioxide, alkaline hydrolysis, electrolysis and fluid cutting with very high pressure water jets and liquid nitrogen are alternate technologies that were evaluated as pre-treatment for production wastes. Wet air oxidation and electrochemical reduction studies were conducted using the U.S. Navy double propellant NOSIH-AA2, which contains a lead-based ballistic modifier. Wet air oxidation and hydrothermal oxidation studies were done using potassium dinitramide phase-stabilized nitrate as an oxidizer. All of these technologies are considered to be suitable for the environmentally benign destruction of pyrotechnic materials, including fireworks. 17 refs., 8 tabs., 4 figs