The U.S. Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program was established with the goal of destroying the nation's stockpile of lethal unitary chemical weapons. Since 1990 the U.S. Army has been testing a baseline incineration technology on Johnston Island in the southern Pacific Ocean. Under the planned disposal program, this baseline technology will be imported in the mid to late 1990s to continental United States disposal facilities; construction will include eight stockpile storage sites.
In early 1992 the Committee on Alternative Chemical Demilitarization Technologies was formed by the National Research Council to investigate potential alternatives to the baseline technology. This book, the result of its investigation, addresses the use of alternative destruction technologies to replace, partly or wholly, or to be used in addition to the baseline technology. The book considers principal technologies that might be applied to the disposal program, strategies that might be used to manage the stockpile, and combinations of technologies that might be employed.
- Alternative Technologies for the Destruction of Chemical Agents and Munitions
- Copyright
- Preface
- Contents
- Acronyms and Abbreviations
- Executive Summary
- REQUIREMENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS
- CHARACTERISTICS OF ALTERNATIVE DESTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES
- Low-Temperature, Low-Pressure, Liquid-Phase Detoxification
- Low-Temperature, Low-Pressure, Liquid-Phase Oxidation
- Moderate-Temperature, High-Pressure Oxidation
- High-Temperature, Low-Pressure Pyrolysis
- High-Temperature, Low-Pressure Oxidation
- WASTE STREAM HANDLING
- Gas Effluents
- Treated Metal Parts and Containers
- Salts
- Liquid Wastes
- STRATEGIES AND SYSTEM IMPLICATIONS FOR DEMILITARIZATION
- GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
- 1 Introduction
- THE U.S. CHEMICAL STOCKPILE DISPOSAL PROGRAM
- RISK AND COMMUNITY CONCERNS
- ALTERNATIVE DEMILITARIZATION SYSTEMS
- TRANSPORTATION OF UNTREATED WEAPONS AND AGENTS
- PRIMARY GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR DEMILITARIZATION
- SCOPE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
- 2 The U.S. Chemical Weapons Stockpile
- DESCRIPTION OF THE AGENTS
- DESCRIPTION OF THE MUNITIONS
- GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE STOCKPILE
- SUMMARY
- 3 U.S. and Foreign Experience with Chemical Weapons Destruction
- U.S. CHEMICAL DEMILITARIZATION EXPERIENCE
- CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENT DESTRUCTION IN OTHER COUNTRIES
- SUMMARY
- 4 Requirements and Considerations for Chemical Demilitarization Technologies
- CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AGENTS AND THEIR BREAKDOWN PRODUCTS
- WASTE STREAMS IN CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION
- PROCESSING RATES
- PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
- Worker Standards
- Air Quality Standards
- Liquid Wastes
- Solid Wastes
- GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS IN ASSESSING UNTESTED ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
- Decontamination Standards
- Chlorinated Dioxins
- MONITORING
- EFFLUENT RETENTION TIME REQUIREMENTS
- TIME REQUIRED FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION
- TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION COSTS
- ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
- 5 Thermal Treatment and Preprocessing and Postprocessing Operations
- PREPROCESSING OPERATIONS
- Cryoprocessing
- Mechanical Disassembly of Explosives, Propellants, and Solidified Agent
- THERMAL TREATMENT
- POSTPROCESSING OPERATIONS
- Solid Wastes
- Control of Nitrogen Oxides
- Water Recycle
- Reduction of Waste Gas Volume
- Waste Gas Storage Requirement
- Storage and Retention Technologies
- Activated-Carbon (Charcoal) Adsorption Systems
- 6 Low-Temperature, Liquid-Phase Processes
- CHEMICAL DETOXIFICATION PROCESSES
- GB (Sarin)
- VX
- H (Mustard)
- Reduction Methods Conceivably Applicable to GB, VX, and H
- DETOXIFICATION WITH IONIZING RADIATION
- LOW-TEMPERATURE AND LOW-PRESSURE OXIDATION PROCESSES
- Chemical Oxidation
- Electrochemical Oxidation
- Oxidizing Agents Plus UV Light
- BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES
- Introduction and Overview
- Direct Destruction of GB and VX
- BIODEGRADATION OF REACTION PRODUCTS FROM THE CHEMICAL PROCESSING OF GB AND VX
- Chemical Hydrolysis and Bioremediation of Mustard
- Bioremediation of Explosives and Energetics
- Engineering Prospects
- Summary of the Potential Application of Biological Processes
- 7 Processes at Medium and High Temperatures
- MODERATE-TEMPERATURE, HIGH-PRESSURE PROCESSES
- Wet Air Oxidation
- Supercritical Water Oxidation
- HIGH-TEMPERATURE, LOW-PRESSURE PYROLYSIS
- Molten Metal Pyrolysis
- Plasma Arc Processes
- Gasification Processes
- Synthetica Detoxifier
- HIGH-TEMPERATURE, LOW-PRESSURE OXIDATION
- Catalytic Fluidized-Bed Oxidation
- Molten Salt Oxidation
- Catalytic Oxidation
- OTHER PROCESSES
- Hydrogenation Processes
- The Adams Process-Reaction with Sulfur
- 8 Application of Alternative Technologies to the Destruction of the U.S. Chemical Weapons Stockpile
- DESTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES
- Low-Temperature, Low-Pressure, Liquid-Phase Detoxification
- Low-Temperature, Low-Pressure, Liquid-Phase Oxidation
- Moderate-Temperature, High-Pressure Oxidation
- High-Temperature, Low-Pressure Pyrolysis
- High-Temperature, Low-Pressure Oxidation
- WASTE STREAM HANDLING PROCESSES
- Solid Waste
- Gas Waste Streams
- Liquid Wastes
- GOALS, STRATEGIES, AND SYSTEMS FOR CHEMICAL DEMILITARIZATION
- Program Goals
- Strategies for Disposal
- System Considerations
- GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
- A Statement of Task
- B Letter from James R. Ambrose, Dated October 21, 1987
- C Letter from Charles Baronian, Dated August 7, 1992
- ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTAL COST AND SCHEDULE ESTIMATES
- 1. Purpose
- 2. Discussion
- 3. Assumptions
- 4. Schedule
- 5. Cost Discussion
- 5. Program Costs
- 5. Summary
- CASE 1 IMPLEMENT AN ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY
- CASE 2 PROCEED WITH BASELINE TECHNOLOGY AFTER DELAY FOR ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
- D Biographical Sketches
- E Technology Developers That Supplied Information
- F Committee Meetings and Activities
- COMMITTEE MEMBERS
- GUEST SPEAKERS
- OBSERVERS
- INVITED OBSERVERS WHO WERE UNABLE TO ATTEND
- G Technology Status Worksheet
- H Excerpt from the U.S. Army's 5X Decontamination Review
- ENCLOSURE 1: REFERENCE LIST
- I IONIZING RADIATION
- TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION
- DEVELOPMENT STATUS
- APPLICATIONS TO CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION
- BY-PRODUCTS AND WASTE STREAMS
- ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
- DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
- J Electrochemical Oxidation
- TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION
- STATUS AND DATABASE
- APPLICATION TO CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION
- ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
- SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
- BY-PRODUCTS AND WASTE STREAMS
- DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
- K Additional Data and Material Balances for Wet Air Oxidation, Supercritical Water Oxidation, and the Synthetica Detoxifier
- WET AIR OXIDATION
- SUPERCRITICAL WATER OXIDATION
- SYNTHETICA DETOXIFIER
- Heat and Material Balances
- References and Bibliography
- Index
Text
Audio
Adobe DRM
Login to your account