Purpose:
Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO), an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional incineration, can destroy hazardous colored smoke and dye compounds that are removed from decommissioned munitions. An innovative technology, SCWO breaks down toxic organic compounds into harmless oxidation by-products such as carbon dioxide and water, greatly reducing storage and disposal costs and environmental pollution.
Description:
The U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), in conjunction with Sandia National Laboratories and their industrial partners, Foster Wheeler Development Corporation/GenCorp Aerojet, is demonstrating a transportable SCWO prototype for test purposes at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas. This unit treats colored smoke and dye compositions generated during the demilitarization of conventional ordnance. System installation is currently scheduled for Spring 1997, with debugging and operational verification lasting approximately 6 months thereafter. SCWO is an emerging treatment technology used to destroy aqueous organic wastes in an environmentally sound manner. The process works by subjecting the waste to temperatures and pressures in the supercritical region for water (above 374oC and 3,205 psi). At these temperatures and pressures, ordinary water takes on very different properties. Most importantly, organic chemicals that are normally insoluble become completely miscible and are rapidly oxidized and destroyed.
Benefits:
While this demonstration will initially process smokes and dyes, other U.S. Department of Defense-unique wastes will be tested. SCWO technology can treat a wide variety of industrial wastes including oils and solvents from the petrochemical industry; waste sludge from the pulp and paper industry; organic solvents generated during the manufacture of pharmaceuticals; dyes from the textile industry; and most significantly, municipal sewage sludge that constitutes most of the country's aqueous organic waste.
(Anticipated Project Completion - 2005)
Contacts:
Mr. Curtis Anderson
US Army TACOM-ARDEC
Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806-5000
Telephone: (201) 724-4287
Fax: (201) 724-3162
E-mail: cander@pica.army.mil
Mr. Crane Robinson
US Army ARDEC
ATTN: AMSTA-AR-WEA
Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806-5000
Telephone: (973) 724-5839
Fax: (973) 724-3162
E-mail: crobin@pica.army.mil
