Scientific Advances in Alternative Demilitarization Technologies

FRANCIS W. HOLM Science Applications International Corporation 7102 Meadow Lane, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sponsored an Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) in Warsaw, Poland on April 24-25, 1995, to collect and study information on alternative and supplemental demilitarization technologies. The conference included experienced scientists and engineers, who delivered presentations and provided written reports oftheir findings. Countries describing their technologies included: Poland (pre-processing, thermal oxidation, and instrumentation), Russia (molten salt oxidation, plasma, catalytic oxidation, supertoxicants, molten metal, fluid bed reactions, and hydrogenation), Germany (supercritical water oxidation and detoxification), the United Kingdom (electrochemical oxidation), the United States (wet air oxidation, detoxification and biodegradation), and the Czech Republic (biodegradation). The technologies identified for assessment at the workshop are alternatives to incineration technology for chemical warfare agent destruction. Treatment of metal parts and explosive or energetic material were considered as a secondary issue. The treatment of dunnage and problems associated with decontamination, while recognized as an element of demilitarization, received only limited discussion. The alternative technologies are grouped into three categories based on process bulk operating temperature: low (O-200°C), medium (200-600°C), and high (600-3,500°C). Reaction types considered include hydrolysis, oxidation, electrochemical, hydrogenation, and pyrolysis. These categories represent a broad spectrum of processes, some of which have been studied only in the laboratory and some of which are in commercial use for destruction of hazardous andtoxic wastes. Some technologies have been developed and used for specific commercial applications.

Inhalt
Fundamental Chemistry of Chemical Warfare Agents and Interrelationships in Technologies.- Prospects for Chemical Weapon Destruction in Molten Slag and Metal of Airtight Furnace.- High-Temperature Detoxification of Chemical Weapons.- Oxidation in Molten Salts and Catalysts: Treatability Study of Model Compounds and Melts.- Oxidation in a Catalytic Fluidized Bed: A Promising Technology for Destruction of Hazardous Waste and Chemical Warfare Agents.- A Two-Stage Method of the Destruction of Toxic Agents.- On Using Hydrogenation Processes for Creating CW Destruction Technology.- Alternative Ways of Destruction of Supertoxic Chemicals within the Framework of the Multi-Purpose Conversion of Military Industries.- Demilitarization of Chemical Agents by SCWO.- Wet Air Oxidation.- Applications of Biodegradation in Chemical Demilitarization: A Review of Recent Studies by the U.S. Army.- The Silver II Process, for the Destruction of CW Munitions.- Process for Chemical Destruction of Chemical Weapons Applying Sodium-Technology.- Problems of Selecting a Method for Destruction of Adamsite Abandoned on the Territory of Poland during World War II.