US20130338407A1 - Method for reclaiming tnt and tnt-base high explosive from warhead by strip down in supercritical fluid - Google Patents
Method for reclaiming tnt and tnt-base high explosive from warhead by strip down in supercritical fluid Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20130338407A1 US20130338407A1 US13/788,104 US201313788104A US2013338407A1 US 20130338407 A1 US20130338407 A1 US 20130338407A1 US 201313788104 A US201313788104 A US 201313788104A US 2013338407 A1 US2013338407 A1 US 2013338407A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- tnt
- explosive
- temperature
- supercritical fluid
- high explosive
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C06—EXPLOSIVES; MATCHES
- C06B—EXPLOSIVES OR THERMIC COMPOSITIONS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS EXPLOSIVES
- C06B49/00—Use of single substances as explosives
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C06—EXPLOSIVES; MATCHES
- C06B—EXPLOSIVES OR THERMIC COMPOSITIONS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS EXPLOSIVES
- C06B21/00—Apparatus or methods for working-up explosives, e.g. forming, cutting, drying
- C06B21/0091—Elimination of undesirable or temporary components of an intermediate or finished product, e.g. making porous or low density products, purifying, stabilising, drying; Deactivating; Reclaiming
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P20/00—Technologies relating to chemical industry
- Y02P20/50—Improvements relating to the production of bulk chemicals
- Y02P20/54—Improvements relating to the production of bulk chemicals using solvents, e.g. supercritical solvents or ionic liquids
Definitions
- the invention relates to methods for recovery and separation of high explosive from aged munitions and more particularly to a method for reclaiming a high explosive from warhead by striping down at a temperature below the melting point in supercritical fluid and inducing a sonicating process simultaneously.
- Typical methods for demilitarization separation techniques include melting out, steaming/water washout and solvent washout of the high explosive from the projectile casing.
- Typical methods for melting out and steaming/water washout are operation at a temperature above the melt point and take high explosive phase transition from solid to liquid.
- Solvent washout is solution high explosive to be separated.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,679 to Morris discloses a method for the extraction of TNT from a high explosive comprising contacting the high explosive with a supercritical fluid at a temperature above the melting temperature (e.g., 85 degrees Celsius) of TNT and at a pressure (e.g., 37.4 MPa) sufficient to extract the TNT.
- a temperature above the melting temperature e.g. 85 degrees Celsius
- a pressure e.g., 37.4 MPa
- This patent is part of extraction method.
- specific substance of the mixture moves from one solvent to another solvent due to different solubilities of different solvents.
- solubilities of TNT and RDX in a supercritical carbon dioxide solvent are illustrated.
- examples 2 and 3 how to extract TNT from explosive B is illustrated.
- explosive is first molten out of a shell by subjecting the shell to carbon dioxide in a temperature of 85 degrees Celsius which is higher than the melting temperature of 81 degrees Celsius of the explosive.
- an extraction is performed for increasing efficiency.
- melting TNT out of a shell by subjecting the shell to carbon dioxide in a temperature higher than the melting point of TNT is a technique within the ordinary skilled artisan in the art and is deemed obvious. Thus, it is very possible that unexpected explosions may occur during the melting-out vessel. This is very dangerous.
- TNT melting TNT out of a shell by subjecting the shell to carbon dioxide in a temperature higher than the melting point of TNT.
- TNT will melt out of any contained enclosure when subjecting to an environment in a temperature higher than the melting point of TNT.
- Melting point means the temperature at which the solid and liquid phases of a substance are in equilibrium. Thus, it is normal when a substance is molten when it is subjected to an environment having a temperature higher than its melting point. But, special attention should be paid when a substance is molten in a temperature lower than its melting point.
- the patent is characterized in that the molten TNT is extracted out of a shell by utilizing TNT having a solubility greater than other explosives when subjecting to a supercritical carbon dioxide environment.
- the extraction vessel has a capacity of 415 liter and is high of the manufacturing cost. Alternatively, it will take 190 days in a flow rate of 1.5 ml/minute to extract 6,600 gram of TNT from a warhead of a 155 mm gun-howitzer in supercritical carbon dioxide gas of temperature 65 degrees Celsius and pressure 27.6 MPa.
- the explosive component is at least one of TNT and TNT-based high explosive.
- the TNT-based high explosive is selected from the group consisting of Comp B, Amatol, Octol, and Ammonal.
- the processing temperature is between about 35 and 75 degrees Celsius and the pressure are between about 10 and 50 MPa.
- the temperature is about 55 degrees Celsius and the pressure is about 25 MPa in optimum conditions.
- the explosive component strip down from the warhead has at least 99%.
- the sonicator attaching to the striping down vessel increases efficiency of the striping down process, the frequency of the sonicating process is between about 2 MHz to 10 MHz.
- the frequency of the sonicating process about 4 MHz is in optimum conditions.
- the following advantages and benefits are obtained: Safety because the carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is employed at a temperature less than the melting point of TNT. Be an environmentally friendly method because no organic solvent is used for collection purpose. Carbon dioxide can be substantially completely recycled after the strip down. Hence, no pollution is generated. Cost effectiveness because the method is time saving and batch based.
- the TNT strip down is done in a melting state, resulting in an increase of the percentage of TNT being striped down.
- an ultrasonic process is added to accelerate the high explosive to strip down from the warhead. That is, the high explosive is only molten when it strips down from the warhead and further strips down from the vessel. Therefore, the invention is advantageous for being short in processing time, low in temperature, and safe.
- FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a view of a method for reclaiming high explosive from warhead by striping down in supercritical fluid according to the invention
- FIG. 2 schematically shows a system used in carrying out the method of the invention.
- FIG. 3 schematically shows attaching a sonicator on the striping down vessel of FIG. 2 and a support for holding the striping down vessel.
- T C critical temperature
- P C critical pressure
- the critical parameters for carbon dioxide are Tc first 31 degrees Celsius and Pc first 7.39 MPa.
- a supercritical fluid results when the temperatures and pressures of the materials are greater than their critical parameters.
- operation is done by attaching a sonicator on the vessel (see FIG. 3 ) and at pressure of about 25 MPa and temperature of about 55 degrees Celsius. All high explosive stripped down were carried out using a carbon dioxide based supercritical fluid in a safe and cost effective manner because the liquid carbon dioxide is non-flammable, non-toxic, chemically stable, and cost effective.
- FIG. 1 a method for reclaiming high explosive from warhead by striping down in supercritical fluid in accordance with the invention is illustrated.
- the method comprises the steps of securing a warhead having encased therein high explosive in a striping down vessel; supplying a supercritical fluid to the striping down vessel; contacting the high explosive with the supercritical fluid at a temperature lower than the melting point temperature of the high explosive and at a pressure sufficient to strip down the high explosive, and inducing a sonicating process on the striping down vessel simultaneously at a frequency of 2 MHz to 10 MHz.
- liquid carbon dioxide is stored in a first storage tank 10 .
- the liquid carbon dioxide is introduced to a filter 20 through a valve 11 by a pump 12 .
- the pure liquid carbon dioxide passes a valve 31 into a second storage tank 30 .
- the liquid carbon dioxide is heated to an operating temperature in the second storage tank 30 by a heater (not shown).
- the second storage tank 30 is provided with a thermometer 32 for measuring temperature of the liquid carbon dioxide contained therein.
- the heated liquid carbon dioxide is pressurized by a pump 40 prior to entering a striping down vessel 50 in the state of a supercritical fluid.
- valves 41 , 42 At upstream and downstream of the pump 40 , there are provided valves 41 , 42 respectively.
- the provision of the valves 41 , 42 can adjust the amount of liquid carbon dioxide as supercritical fluid supplied to the striping down vessel 50 .
- the striping down vessel 50 is provided with a thermometer 51 and a pressure gauge 52 so that a person operating the system may be visually aware of the temperature and the pressure of the liquid carbon dioxide contained in the striping down vessel 50 .
- the temperature of the striping down vessel 50 is sufficiently low and the pressure thereof is also sufficient so that the high explosive may contact the supercritical fluid at the predetermined temperature range and at the predetermined pressure range to strip down the high explosive.
- the supercritical fluid may then flow to a flow restrictor 53 with the flow being reduced thereat.
- the pressure drops the liquid carbon dioxide becomes a gas at an ambient temperature, and any dissolved solute nucleates and is collected in a carbon dioxide recycling vessel 70 .
- the expanded carbon dioxide gas flows to a subsequent station for further processing.
- the striping down vessel 50 comprises a shell 510 with a temperature control layer (not shown), a space 511 defined by the shell 510 , an inlet 512 through the bottom, and an outlet 513 through the top, a pair of sonicators 514 , 515 attaching inside the shell 510 .
- a support 60 is provided for holding the striping down vessel 50 .
- the support 60 comprises a shell 61 , a space 611 defined by the shell 61 , an inlet 612 of the shell 61 communicating with the inlet 512 and being held by a support 62 which is placed in the striping down vessel 50 , an outlet 613 communicating with the outlet 513 , a hanging ring 63 proximate the outlet 613 for moving the support 60 , a pair of brackets 651 , 652 for positioning a warhead (not shown), and a storage member 66 under the brackets 651 , 652 .
- high explosive of the warhead may contact the liquid carbon dioxide (i.e., supercritical fluid) accompanying with sonicating process at optimum frequency, temperature, and pressure ranges. As a result, the high explosive is disengaged from or striped down and temporarily stored in the storage member 66 .
- a simulated warhead of 40 mm diameter containing 60 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a striping down prior to sealing.
- TNT begins to strip from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the striping down vessel.
- Percentages of the striped TNT are tabulated in the following Tables (I) and (II) as temperature and pressure vary in the strip down operation which takes about 30 minutes.
- % TNT striped down operation is defined by weight of the striped TNT divided by weight of TNT before the strip down operation and multiplied by 100%.
- a simulated warhead having a volume of 250 ml containing 250 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a striping down vessel prior to sealing.
- TNT begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the striping down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 55 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The strip down operation takes about 30 minutes. Results: About zero (0) gram TNT is remained in the warhead and about 241 g of TNT is collected in the TNT collection vessel after the strip down operation.
- a simulated warhead having a volume of 350 ml containing 500 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a striping down vessel prior to sealing.
- TNT begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the striping down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 55 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The strip down operation takes about 30 minutes. Results: About zero (0) gram TNT is remained in the warhead and about 490 g of TNT is collected in the TNT collection vessel after the strip down operation.
- composition B i.e., Comp B
- composition B consisting of 60% RDX, 40% TNT, and less than 1% wax in an inverted position
- Composition B begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the strip down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 65 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The striping down operation takes about 120 minutes.
- a 155 mm howitzer warhead containing 6700 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a strip down vessel prior to sealing.
- TNT begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the strip down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 65 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The strip down operation takes about 30 minutes.
- a 155 mm howitzer warhead containing 6700 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a strip down vessel prior to sealing, simultaneously to start sonicator at the frequency of 2 MHz to 10 MHz.
- TNT begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the strip down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 65 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The striping down operation takes about 20 minutes.
- a 155 mm howitzer warhead containing 6700 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a strip down vessel prior to sealing, simultaneously to start sonicator at the frequency of 2 MHz to 10 MHz.
- TNT begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the strip down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 35 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The striping down operation takes about 120 minute.
Landscapes
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Organic Chemistry (AREA)
- Extraction Or Liquid Replacement (AREA)
Abstract
A method for the retraction of an explosive component from a high explosive, including the steps of loading a high explosive containing an explosive component into an striping down vessel; supplying a supercritical fluid to the striping down vessel; contacting the high explosive with the supercritical fluid at a temperature below the melting point of the explosive component and at a pressure sufficient to strip down the explosive component; and inducing a sonicating process on the striping down vessel simultaneously at a frequency of 2 MHz to 10 MHz.
Description
- This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent Ser. No. 13/182,583 entitled “METHOD FOR RECLAIMING HIGH EXPLOSIVE FROM WARHEAD BY MELTING-OUT IN SUPERCRITICAL FLUID” filed Jul. 14, 2011 which is incorporated by reference for all purposes, and is now pending.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The invention relates to methods for recovery and separation of high explosive from aged munitions and more particularly to a method for reclaiming a high explosive from warhead by striping down at a temperature below the melting point in supercritical fluid and inducing a sonicating process simultaneously.
- 2. Description of Related Art
- How to effectively remove obsolete and aged munitions and explosive inventories from the active arsenal in a safe manner is of great concern. Typically, demilitarization programs focused on disposal or destruction. Recently, there have been efforts to develop recycling and/or reclamation processes that permit explosives and higher valued constituents of munitions systems to be recovered and re-used in military applications due to environmental protection.
- Typical methods for demilitarization separation techniques include melting out, steaming/water washout and solvent washout of the high explosive from the projectile casing. Typical methods for melting out and steaming/water washout are operation at a temperature above the melt point and take high explosive phase transition from solid to liquid. Solvent washout is solution high explosive to be separated. These three methods are disadvantageous for being time consuming, inappropriate for mass reclamation of explosive, generating too much polluted waste water which is required to treat in prohibitively high cost, and being low efficiency.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,679 to Morris discloses a method for the extraction of TNT from a high explosive comprising contacting the high explosive with a supercritical fluid at a temperature above the melting temperature (e.g., 85 degrees Celsius) of TNT and at a pressure (e.g., 37.4 MPa) sufficient to extract the TNT.
- This patent is part of extraction method. In detail, specific substance of the mixture moves from one solvent to another solvent due to different solubilities of different solvents. In example 1, solubilities of TNT and RDX in a supercritical carbon dioxide solvent are illustrated. In examples 2 and 3, how to extract TNT from explosive B is illustrated. In example 4, explosive is first molten out of a shell by subjecting the shell to carbon dioxide in a temperature of 85 degrees Celsius which is higher than the melting temperature of 81 degrees Celsius of the explosive. Next, an extraction is performed for increasing efficiency. In these examples, melting TNT out of a shell by subjecting the shell to carbon dioxide in a temperature higher than the melting point of TNT is a technique within the ordinary skilled artisan in the art and is deemed obvious. Thus, it is very possible that unexpected explosions may occur during the melting-out vessel. This is very dangerous.
- Further, in claim 1 of the patent melting TNT out of a shell by subjecting the shell to carbon dioxide in a temperature higher than the melting point of TNT. TNT will melt out of any contained enclosure when subjecting to an environment in a temperature higher than the melting point of TNT. This is within the ordinary skilled artisan in the art and is deemed obvious. Melting point means the temperature at which the solid and liquid phases of a substance are in equilibrium. Thus, it is normal when a substance is molten when it is subjected to an environment having a temperature higher than its melting point. But, special attention should be paid when a substance is molten in a temperature lower than its melting point. In short, the patent is characterized in that the molten TNT is extracted out of a shell by utilizing TNT having a solubility greater than other explosives when subjecting to a supercritical carbon dioxide environment.
- It is also known that many explosive components have a very low solubility in carbon dioxide based supercritical fluid. Further, TNT has a very low solubility in carbon dioxide based supercritical fluid. Thus, a great volume of carbon dioxide based supercritical fluid is required for reclaiming TNT from the high explosive. This in turn adversely increases the cost. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,679 to Morris discloses solubility of TNT in supercritical carbon dioxide gas of temperature 65 degrees Celsius and pressure 27.6 MPa is 16 mg/mL. 412.5 liter of supercritical carbon dioxide liquid is used to extract 6,600 gram of TNT from a warhead of a 155 mm gun-howitzer in supercritical carbon dioxide gas of temperature 65 degrees Celsius and pressure 27.6 MPa. The extraction vessel has a capacity of 415 liter and is high of the manufacturing cost. Alternatively, it will take 190 days in a flow rate of 1.5 ml/minute to extract 6,600 gram of TNT from a warhead of a 155 mm gun-howitzer in supercritical carbon dioxide gas of temperature 65 degrees Celsius and pressure 27.6 MPa.
- Notwithstanding the prior art, the invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.
- It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a method for the retraction of an explosive component from a high explosive, comprising the steps of loading a high explosive containing an explosive component into a striping down vessel; supplying a supercritical fluid to the striping down vessel; contacting the high explosive with the supercritical fluid at a temperature below the melting point of the explosive component and at a pressure sufficient to strip down the explosive component; inducing a sonicating process simultaneously to have the high explosive accelerated to strip down from the warhead; and simultaneously adding an ultrasonic process to accelerate the high explosive to strip down from the warhead. That is, the high explosive is only molten when it strips down from the warhead and further strips down from the vessel. Therefore, the invention is advantageous for being short in processing time, low in temperature, and safe.
- In a first aspect of the invention, the explosive component is at least one of TNT and TNT-based high explosive.
- In a second aspect of the invention, the TNT-based high explosive is selected from the group consisting of Comp B, Amatol, Octol, and Ammonal.
- In a third aspect of the invention, the processing temperature is between about 35 and 75 degrees Celsius and the pressure are between about 10 and 50 MPa.
- In a fourth aspect of the invention, the temperature is about 55 degrees Celsius and the pressure is about 25 MPa in optimum conditions.
- In a fifth aspect of the invention, the explosive component strip down from the warhead has at least 99%. In a sixth aspect of the invention, the sonicator attaching to the striping down vessel increases efficiency of the striping down process, the frequency of the sonicating process is between about 2 MHz to 10 MHz.
- In a seventh aspect of the invention, the frequency of the sonicating process about 4 MHz is in optimum conditions.
- In an eighth aspect of the invention, inducing a sonicating process simultaneously to speed up the efficiency of the strip down process.
- By utilizing the invention, the following advantages and benefits are obtained: Safety because the carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is employed at a temperature less than the melting point of TNT. Be an environmentally friendly method because no organic solvent is used for collection purpose. Carbon dioxide can be substantially completely recycled after the strip down. Hence, no pollution is generated. Cost effectiveness because the method is time saving and batch based. The TNT strip down is done in a melting state, resulting in an increase of the percentage of TNT being striped down. Further, simultaneously an ultrasonic process is added to accelerate the high explosive to strip down from the warhead. That is, the high explosive is only molten when it strips down from the warhead and further strips down from the vessel. Therefore, the invention is advantageous for being short in processing time, low in temperature, and safe.
- The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
-
FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a view of a method for reclaiming high explosive from warhead by striping down in supercritical fluid according to the invention; -
FIG. 2 schematically shows a system used in carrying out the method of the invention; and -
FIG. 3 schematically shows attaching a sonicator on the striping down vessel ofFIG. 2 and a support for holding the striping down vessel. - Temperature and pressure at the critical-point are defined as the critical temperature (TC) and critical pressure (PC). The critical parameters for carbon dioxide are Tc first 31 degrees Celsius and Pc first 7.39 MPa. A supercritical fluid results when the temperatures and pressures of the materials are greater than their critical parameters. For effective strip down of high explosive, operation is done by attaching a sonicator on the vessel (see
FIG. 3 ) and at pressure of about 25 MPa and temperature of about 55 degrees Celsius. All high explosive stripped down were carried out using a carbon dioxide based supercritical fluid in a safe and cost effective manner because the liquid carbon dioxide is non-flammable, non-toxic, chemically stable, and cost effective. - Referring to
FIG. 1 , a method for reclaiming high explosive from warhead by striping down in supercritical fluid in accordance with the invention is illustrated. The method comprises the steps of securing a warhead having encased therein high explosive in a striping down vessel; supplying a supercritical fluid to the striping down vessel; contacting the high explosive with the supercritical fluid at a temperature lower than the melting point temperature of the high explosive and at a pressure sufficient to strip down the high explosive, and inducing a sonicating process on the striping down vessel simultaneously at a frequency of 2 MHz to 10 MHz. - Referring to
FIG. 2 , a system for carrying out the method in accordance with the invention is schematically shown. In operation, liquid carbon dioxide is stored in afirst storage tank 10. The liquid carbon dioxide is introduced to afilter 20 through avalve 11 by apump 12. After being filtered by thefilter 20, the pure liquid carbon dioxide passes avalve 31 into asecond storage tank 30. The liquid carbon dioxide is heated to an operating temperature in thesecond storage tank 30 by a heater (not shown). Thesecond storage tank 30 is provided with athermometer 32 for measuring temperature of the liquid carbon dioxide contained therein. The heated liquid carbon dioxide is pressurized by apump 40 prior to entering a striping downvessel 50 in the state of a supercritical fluid. At upstream and downstream of thepump 40, there are providedvalves valves vessel 50. The striping downvessel 50 is provided with athermometer 51 and apressure gauge 52 so that a person operating the system may be visually aware of the temperature and the pressure of the liquid carbon dioxide contained in the striping downvessel 50. Preferably, the temperature of the striping downvessel 50 is sufficiently low and the pressure thereof is also sufficient so that the high explosive may contact the supercritical fluid at the predetermined temperature range and at the predetermined pressure range to strip down the high explosive. The supercritical fluid may then flow to aflow restrictor 53 with the flow being reduced thereat. As the pressure drops, the liquid carbon dioxide becomes a gas at an ambient temperature, and any dissolved solute nucleates and is collected in a carbondioxide recycling vessel 70. The expanded carbon dioxide gas flows to a subsequent station for further processing. - Referring to
FIG. 3 , the striping downvessel 50 comprises ashell 510 with a temperature control layer (not shown), aspace 511 defined by theshell 510, aninlet 512 through the bottom, and anoutlet 513 through the top, a pair ofsonicators shell 510. Asupport 60 is provided for holding the striping downvessel 50. Thesupport 60 comprises ashell 61, aspace 611 defined by theshell 61, aninlet 612 of theshell 61 communicating with theinlet 512 and being held by asupport 62 which is placed in the striping downvessel 50, anoutlet 613 communicating with theoutlet 513, a hangingring 63 proximate theoutlet 613 for moving thesupport 60, a pair ofbrackets storage member 66 under thebrackets storage member 66. - Following are examples of the invention with the
space 511 having a volume of two (2) liters: - A simulated warhead of 40 mm diameter containing 60 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a striping down prior to sealing. TNT begins to strip from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the striping down vessel. Percentages of the striped TNT are tabulated in the following Tables (I) and (II) as temperature and pressure vary in the strip down operation which takes about 30 minutes.
-
TABLE (I) Pressure Temperature Time (MPa) (degrees Celsius) (min) % TNT striped down 15 55 30 59.5 20 100 25 100 30 100 35 100 40 100 -
TABLE (II) Temperature Pressure Time (degrees Celsius) (MPa) (min) % TNT striped down 35 25 30 2 45 5 55 100 65 100 75 100 - Definition: % TNT striped down operation is defined by weight of the striped TNT divided by weight of TNT before the strip down operation and multiplied by 100%.
- A simulated warhead having a volume of 250 ml containing 250 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a striping down vessel prior to sealing. TNT begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the striping down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 55 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The strip down operation takes about 30 minutes. Results: About zero (0) gram TNT is remained in the warhead and about 241 g of TNT is collected in the TNT collection vessel after the strip down operation.
- A simulated warhead having a volume of 350 ml containing 500 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a striping down vessel prior to sealing. TNT begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the striping down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 55 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The strip down operation takes about 30 minutes. Results: About zero (0) gram TNT is remained in the warhead and about 490 g of TNT is collected in the TNT collection vessel after the strip down operation.
- A 105 mm howitzer warhead containing 2200 g composition B (i.e., Comp B) consisting of 60% RDX, 40% TNT, and less than 1% wax in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a strip down vessel prior to sealing. Composition B begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the strip down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 65 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The striping down operation takes about 120 minutes.
- A 155 mm howitzer warhead containing 6700 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a strip down vessel prior to sealing. TNT begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the strip down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 65 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The strip down operation takes about 30 minutes.
- A 155 mm howitzer warhead containing 6700 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a strip down vessel prior to sealing, simultaneously to start sonicator at the frequency of 2 MHz to 10 MHz. TNT begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the strip down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 65 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The striping down operation takes about 20 minutes.
- A 155 mm howitzer warhead containing 6700 g TNT in an inverted position is held by a support. Place both the support and the warhead in a strip down vessel prior to sealing, simultaneously to start sonicator at the frequency of 2 MHz to 10 MHz. TNT begins to strip down from the warhead as pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid is supplied to the strip down vessel which is maintained at a temperature of about 35 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of about 25 MPa. The striping down operation takes about 120 minute.
- While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims (13)
1. A method for the strip down of an explosive component from a high explosive, comprising the steps of:
(a) loading a high explosive containing an explosive component into a striping down vessel;
(b) supplying a supercritical fluid to the striping down vessel;
(c) contacting the high explosive with the supercritical fluid at a temperature below the melting point of the explosive component and at a pressure sufficient to strip down the explosive component; and
(d) inducing a sonicating process on the striping down vessel simultaneously at a frequency of 2 MHz to 10 MHz.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the explosive component is at least one of TNT and TNT-based high explosive.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the TNT-based high explosive is selected from the group consisting of Comp B, Amatol, Octol, and Ammonal.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the supercritical fluid is liquid carbon dioxide.
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the temperature is between about 50 and 75 degrees Celsius and the pressure is between about 15 and 40 MPa.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the temperature is about 55 degrees Celsius and the pressure is about 25 MPa.
7. The method of claim 3 , wherein the explosive component is striped down from the TNT-based high explosive has at least 99% TNT.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein steps (a), (b), (c), and (d) are done by batches operation.
9. The method of claim 2 , wherein the TNT is striped by a strip-down method.
10. The method of claim 2 , wherein the TNT-based high explosive is striped by a strip-down method.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the temperature of the supercritical fluid is about 55 degrees Celsius and the pressure thereof is about 25 MPa.
12. The method of claim 2 , wherein the temperature of the supercritical fluid is about 55 degrees Celsius and the pressure thereof is about 25 MPa.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the frequency of the sonicating process is 4 MHz.
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US13/788,104 US8608880B1 (en) | 2011-07-14 | 2013-03-07 | Method for reclaiming TNT and TNT-base high explosive from warhead by strip down in supercritical fluid |
TW102145735A TW201435294A (en) | 2013-03-07 | 2013-12-11 | Method for reclaiming high explosive from warhead by striping down in supercritical fluid |
CN201310683049.7A CN104034214B (en) | 2013-03-07 | 2013-12-12 | The method of bullet reagent removal is carried out with supercritical fluid |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US13/182,583 US20130014866A1 (en) | 2011-07-14 | 2011-07-14 | Method for reclaiming high explosive from warhead by melting-out in supercritical fluid |
US13/788,104 US8608880B1 (en) | 2011-07-14 | 2013-03-07 | Method for reclaiming TNT and TNT-base high explosive from warhead by strip down in supercritical fluid |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US13/182,583 Continuation-In-Part US20130014866A1 (en) | 2011-07-14 | 2011-07-14 | Method for reclaiming high explosive from warhead by melting-out in supercritical fluid |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US8608880B1 US8608880B1 (en) | 2013-12-17 |
US20130338407A1 true US20130338407A1 (en) | 2013-12-19 |
Family
ID=49725685
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US13/788,104 Active US8608880B1 (en) | 2011-07-14 | 2013-03-07 | Method for reclaiming TNT and TNT-base high explosive from warhead by strip down in supercritical fluid |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US8608880B1 (en) |
Family Cites Families (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5953679A (en) * | 1997-04-16 | 1999-09-14 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of Army | Method for recovery and separation of trinitrotoluene by supercritical fluid extraction |
-
2013
- 2013-03-07 US US13/788,104 patent/US8608880B1/en active Active
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US8608880B1 (en) | 2013-12-17 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US4854982A (en) | Method to dimilitarize extract, and recover ammonium perchlorate from composite propellants using liquid ammonia | |
US4909868A (en) | Extraction and recovery of plasticizers from solid propellants and munitions | |
US5284995A (en) | Method to extract and recover nitramine oxidizers from solid propellants using liquid ammonia | |
US5737709A (en) | High pressure washout of explosives agents | |
Tolley et al. | Stripping organics from metal and mineral surfaces using supercritical fluids | |
US7328643B2 (en) | Process for accessing munitions using fluid jet technology | |
US8608880B1 (en) | Method for reclaiming TNT and TNT-base high explosive from warhead by strip down in supercritical fluid | |
US5953679A (en) | Method for recovery and separation of trinitrotoluene by supercritical fluid extraction | |
US5314550A (en) | Recovery of aluminum and hydrocarbon values from composite energetic compositions | |
US20130014866A1 (en) | Method for reclaiming high explosive from warhead by melting-out in supercritical fluid | |
KR101122575B1 (en) | Apparatus and method for the disposal of waste solid rocket motors | |
CN104311501A (en) | Waste HMX and TNT mixed explosive recovery method | |
US7225716B1 (en) | Process for removing the fuze from explosive projectiles using fluid jet technology | |
US6777586B1 (en) | Reclaiming RDX and TNT from composition B and composition B containing military shells | |
Shim et al. | Successful plant scale production of solid propellant recycling from obsolete ammunition | |
USRE34419E (en) | Method to demilitarize, extract, and recover ammonium perchlorate from composite propellants using liquid ammonia | |
CN111943785B (en) | Method for preparing passivated NTO (nitrate-doped nitrate) by recycling waste fusion-cast explosive NTO | |
CN111943788B (en) | Method for preparing molding powder by recycling NTO (nitrate-oxide) in waste fusion-cast explosive | |
US6476286B1 (en) | Reclaiming TNT and aluminum from tritonal and tritonal-containing munitions | |
WO2010034112A1 (en) | PROCESS FOR EXTRACTING A TARGET COMPOUND USING HFO1234yf | |
Kang et al. | Extraction-based recovery of RDX from obsolete Composition B | |
TWI426062B (en) | A method of warping with supercritical fluid | |
US7423187B1 (en) | Recovery of TNT and RDX from bulk composition B explosives | |
CN104034214B (en) | The method of bullet reagent removal is carried out with supercritical fluid | |
US7521585B2 (en) | Recovery of nitramines and TNT from mixtures thereof |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: TAI CHAM TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD., TAIWAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:LI, JIN-SHUH;YEH, TASO-FA;LU, KAI-TAI;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:029941/0542 Effective date: 20130225 |
|
STCF | Information on status: patent grant |
Free format text: PATENTED CASE |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 4 |
|
MAFP | Maintenance fee payment |
Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 8TH YR, SMALL ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M2552); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: SMALL ENTITY Year of fee payment: 8 |