Claims
- 1. An apparatus for conversion of energetic materials comprising:
a tank having a first inlet being connected to a source of water and energetic materials, a second inlet being connected to a base dispenser and a first outlet; and a base processor operatively connected to the first outlet of the tank, wherein the base processor comprises a compressor.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising connectors connecting the base processor and the tank.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the base dispenser comprises a base selected from the group consisting of liquid ammonia and gaseous ammonia.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein gaseous ammonia is introduced through the second inlet.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the base processor is an ammonia compressor.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the base processor is operatively connected to a condensor.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising connectors connecting the condensor to the tank.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tank comprises a reaction mixture, the reaction mixture comprising water and energetic materials.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture further comprises unreacted base.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tank further comprises a second outlet operatively connected to a product container, the product container having an inlet.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the product container further comprises an outlet, the product container outlet operatively connected to the base processor.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a portion of the tank comprises a jacket operatively connected to a heat exchanger.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein a product container is disposed between the first outlet and the base processor, the product container having an inlet operatively connected to the first outlet of the tank and an outlet operatively connected to the base processor.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the product container comprises reaction products from the tank and unreacted base.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising connectors connecting the base processor to a third inlet into the tank.
- 16. A method for converting energetic materials comprising:
combining a volatile base with energetic materials and water to obtain a reaction mixture that hydrolyzes the energetic materials; and recovering unreacted base.
- 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the method further comprises combining the unreacted base with energetic materials.
- 18. The method of claim 16 wherein the volatile base is liquid ammonia.
- 19. The method of claim 16 wherein the volatile base is gaseous ammonia.
- 20. The method of claim 16 wherein the unreacted base recovered is gaseous ammonia.
- 21. The method of claim 16 wherein the recovering of unreacted base comprises evaporating ammonia from the reaction mixture.
- 22. The method of claim 16 wherein the method further comprises mixing the reaction mixture.
- 23. The method of claim 16 wherein the base is recovered after the products from the reaction mixture are transferred to a product container.
- 24. The method of claim 17 wherein the unreacted base is compressed prior to introduction into water containing energetic materials.
- 25. The method of claim 17 wherein the unreacted base is cooled prior to introduction into water containing energetic materials.
- 26. The method of claim 16 wherein the amount of volatile base in the reaction mixture is between about 2 percent by weight and about 95 percent by weight of the water.
- 27. The method of claim 16 wherein the amount of volatile base in the reaction mixture is between about 5 percent by weight and about 30 percent by weight of the water.
- 28. The method of claim 16 wherein the amount of energetic material is about 50 percent by weight of the reaction mixture or less.
- 29. The method of claim 16 wherein the amount of energetic material is about 20 percent by weight of the mixture or less.
- 30. The method of claim 16 wherein the reaction mixture is maintained between about 70 degrees Celsius and about 100 degrees Celsius.
- 31. The method of claim 16 wherein the pressure is maintained between about 8 PSIG and about 20 PSIG.
- 32. The method of claim 16 wherein the reaction mixture is hydrolyzed for between about 30 seconds and about 10 hours.
- 33. The method of claim 16 wherein the combining is conducted at a rate of about a half ton of energetic material or less per minute per ton of reaction mixture.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/184,338, titled LOW COST METHOD FOR DESTRUCTION OF ENERGETIC MATERIALS filed on Feb. 23, 2000, incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60184338 |
Feb 2000 |
US |