title: Disposal of spent tributylphosphate by gliding arc plasma.
abstract: The gliding arc in humid air is a relevant source of free radicals and strongly oxidising species such as HO* (shown by emission spectroscopy), which are able to degrade organic wastes. This feature was used in a new process for mineralising spent tributylphosphate (TBP) which is an important waste from nuclear industry. The degradation kinetics is examined by monitoring the conversion of TBP into phosphoric acid in a batch reactor. The kinetics exhibits three steps and especially an overall zero-order linear step with a rate of 10 mmol h(-1) at the beginning of the treatment. This zero-order step agrees with a surface oxidation process. After a 13.7h treatment, about 45% of the TBP is converted into inorganic phosphorus compounds, with phosphoric acid as the major product (63% of inorganic phosphorus compounds), and at least 19.5% is not degraded. Dibutylphosphoric acid (HDBP) was identified as the main by-product by a nuclear magnetic resonance technique, infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography.
authors.affiliation: Société des Traitements en Milieu Ionisant, 1 route de la Noue, 91196, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moussa
authors.forename: Jean Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Brisset
mesh_terms: D005609:Free Radicals; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical / Q000737:chemistry; D007700:Kinetics; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D010755:Organophosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D016877:Oxidants / Q000737:chemistry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010756:Phosphoric Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D011850:Radioactive Waste; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005609:Free Radicals; D010755:Organophosphates; D016877:Oxidants; D010756:Phosphoric Acids; D011850:Radioactive Waste; D012997:Solvents; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; C009524:tributyl phosphate; C030242:phosphoric acid