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Alternative Technologies for the Destruction of Chemical Agents and Munitions (1993)

Chapter: APPLICATION TO CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION

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Suggested Citation:"APPLICATION TO CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION." National Research Council. 1993. Alternative Technologies for the Destruction of Chemical Agents and Munitions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2218.
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Page 276

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J ELECTROCHEMICAL OXIDATION 276 Alternative nonaqueous electrolytes could be considered, such as propylene carbonate, or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). APPLICATION TO CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION The MEO process has not been tested with chemical agents. Related compounds have been oxidized in small scale test work: two phosphate esters, tributyl phosphate and tritolyl phosphate; and a compound related to mustard, 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide. High conversions were obtained. Complete oxidation of organic compounds requires the transfer of a large number of electrons, commonly four for every carbon atom for example. The overall chemical reaction for oxidation of GB would be (in principle): The transfer of 26 electrons per mole of GB destroyed (Eq. 4) translates into a very large electric current flow and power consumption. For the destruction of 1 ton per day of GB: • A current flow of about 200,000 amps for a 24-hour period would be required. • The electrode potential of the Ag+/Ag2+ couple is 1.98 V; with allowance for electrical heating losses and electrode over voltages, the cell voltage would be expected in the range of 4 to 5 V. The power consumption for a 4 V cell would then be 800 kW for 24 hours. • The usual electrode current density is limited to 200 A/square foot; thus the anode area requirement would be 1,000 square feet. The usual industrial arrangement is to operate several cells in series. In that way the current flow can be reduced (which is preferable) while the overall voltage is increased; the power consumption stays the same. No data are available on the rates of the chemical reactions. Very high conversion levels are required, so that the concentration of chemical agent in the reacting mixture must be very low. The size of reactor needed to meet the destruction rate required under these conditions is not known.

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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.

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