Molten salt destruction of energetic material wastes as an alternative to open burning. Revision 1
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States). Energetic Materials Center
As a result of the end of the Cold War and the shift in emphasis to a smaller stockpile, many munitions, both conventional and nuclear, are scheduled for retirement and rapid dismantlement and demilitarization. Major components of these munitions are the explosives and propellants, or energetic materials. The Molten Salt Destruction (MSD) Process has been demonstrated for the destruction of HE and HE-containing wastes. MSD converts the organic constituents of the waste into non-hazardous substances such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water. Any inorganic constituents of the waste, such as binders and metallic particles, are retained in the molten salt. LLNL has built a small-scale (about 1 kg/hr throughput) unit to test the destruction of HE using the MSD process. The authors have demonstrated that HE`s and liquid propellants can be safely and fully destroyed using the molten salt destruction process. The authors are currently working on a number of improvements to the process. They are modifying the design of unit to obtain more throughput without any increase in salt entrainment. They are implementing an advanced nozzle design for injection of larger particles. They are defining operating envelopes for a number of high explosives and formulations. They are developing models to study the temperature profile of a top-feed nozzle for feeding larger particles into the unit.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 80968
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-117608-Rev.1; CONF-9411155-4-Rev.1; ON: DE95013461; TRN: AHC29520%%35
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1994 Luxembourg international symposium on the rehabilitation of military sites and demilitarization of explosive ordance, Kirchberg (Luxembourg), 14-18 Nov 1994; Other Information: PBD: 2 Nov 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Molten salt destruction of energetic material wastes as an alternative to open burning
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