Neutralization/biodegradation of HD
- Army Edgewood Research, Development and Enginerring Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (United States)
The reaction of sulfur mustard (2,2{prime}-dichlorodiethyl sulfide, HD) with NaOH was investigated with respect to the potential utilization of this reaction for the demilitarization of HD stockpiles. Initial studies with Chemical Agent Standard Analytical Reference Material (CASARM) and [{sup 13}C]HD defined the essential parameters of the HD/NaOH reaction with respect to the effects of temperature and NaOH concentration. A temperature increase from 30{degrees}C to 70{degrees}C resulted in a greater than 28-fold increase in the hydrolysis rate, corresponding to an enthalpy of activation value of 17.9 Kcal/mol. NaOH requirements were essentially stoichiometric (0.528 g NaOH per g HD). The effects of varied HD concentrations on the product yield were investigated. At lower HD concentrations, thiodiglycol (TDG) was the major product. As HD concentrations increased, the relative yield of ether and thioether products increased with a concomitant decrease of TDG. Material balance was performed by {sup 13}C NMR to determine the overall product distribution. Approximately 35% of the carbon from HD formed TDG, 60% formed ether-alcohol compounds and 5% formed thioxane and elimination products. Under typical conditions, hydrolysis was complete (no HD or chlorinated organics remained) as determined by both {sup 13}C NMR and GOMS. In order to determine if the process would have application to partially degraded samples which are frequently encountered in demilitarization operations, 64% HD recovered from a buried munition was tested. No chlorinated compounds were detectable in the hydrolysate and the basic distribution of products was similar to that seen with CASARM and munitions-grade material. Biodegradation experiments with hydrolyzed [{sup 14}C] HD as the sole source of carbon for growth demonstrated mineralization by the evolution of CO{sub 2}.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 416161
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/M--4315; CONF-9409370--; ON: DE95016127
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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