Acid Digestion of Recovered Chemical Warfare Materiel

          A Battelle team has fabricated a skid-mounted system capable of treating munitions containing explosives and chemical warfare agents. This system, called the Acid Digestion Process (ADP), has been shown to be compatible with a wide range of World War I and II chemical agents and energetics. The system was recently used to treat 3 munitions recovered from a WWI test site near Washington, DC. The US Army Munition Assessment Review Board characterized the munitions as containing an arsenic compound. The munitions did not contain explosive components.
          Since the fill was characterized as an industrial chemical and not a military unique chemical, the Project Manager for Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel (PMNSCM) elected to conduct a treatability study for the munitions. PMNSCM contracted with their Systems Contractor to further characterize the munitions at Battelle's Hazardous Materials Research Center and to determine whether the ADP was an appropriate treatment method for this type munition.
          One of the munitions was sampled under engineering controls and determined to contain arsine, a toxic and flammable compressed gas. The combination of toxicity, high vapor pressure, and extremely low flashpoint of arsine presented a unique challenge for the ADP. Battelle's laboratory personnel conducted literature searches and laboratory tests to show that the arsine munitions could be safely treated in the ADP. The laboratory staff recommended a nitrogen purge be used with the ADP to limit the temperature of arsine combusting within the reactor. They also recommended that the scrubber solution in one of the wet scrubbers be changed from a 25% sodium hydroxide solution to a 10% potassium permanganate solution to effectively remove arsine should it not completely react with the acid.
          The munitions were successfully destroyed on March 6, 2003 at Battelle's High Energy Research Laboratory facility in Ohio. The liquid waste products were sent for final disposal at a biodegradation facility in New York. There was no solid waste.
          The procedures, equipment, and information can be applied to other types of unexploded ordnance as well. Demonstrations of the ADP are planned in the US and in other countries.
          The POC at Battelle for the Acid Digestion Process is Ed Groth, grothe@battelle.org, 410-306-8647.