title: Degradation of high energetic and insensitive munitions compounds by Fe/Cu bimetal reduction.
abstract: A reductive technology based on a completely mixed two-phase reactor (bimetallic particles and aqueous stream) was developed for the treatment of aqueous effluents contaminated with nitramines and nitro-substituted energetic materials. Experimental degradation studies were performed using solutions of three high energetics (RDX, HMX, TNT) and three insensitive-munitions components (NTO, NQ, DNAN). The study shows that, on laboratory scale, these energetic compounds are easily degraded in solution by suspensions of bimetallic particles (Fe/Ni and Fe/Cu) prepared by electro-less deposition. The type of bimetal pair (Fe/Cu or Fe/Ni) does not appear to affect the degradation kinetics of RDX, HMX, and TNT. The degradation of all components followed apparent first-order kinetics. The half-lives of all compounds except NTO were under 10 min. Additional parameters affecting the degradation processes were solids loading and initial pH.
authors.affiliation: University of New Haven, New Haven, CT, United States.
authors.forename: Agamemnon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koutsospyros
authors.forename: Julius
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pavlov
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fawcett
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Strickland
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Smolinski
authors.forename: Washington
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Braida
mesh_terms: D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D053834:Explosive Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D007700:Kinetics; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
chemical_list: D053834:Explosive Agents; D003300:Copper; D007501:Iron