A very complete survey of different approaches adopted by Eastern and
Western countries for the disposal of surplus ammunition. Incineration
and other techniques for the disposal of high explosives, gun and rocket
propellants are introduced and discussed in relation to environmental
and safety requirements. Proposals for and examples of the re-use of
military explosives in commercial applications are given. Topics
discussed range from the conversion of energetic systems into chemical
raw materials to the new development of energetic systems with special
features for commercial use (such as producing artificial diamonds by
detonation, self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, fire
extinguishing, etc.).