FRANCIS W. HOLM Science Applications International Corporation 7102
Meadow Lane, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 The North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) sponsored an Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) in
Warsaw, Poland on April 24-25, 1995, to collect and study information on
alternative and supplemental demilitarization technologies. The
conference included experienced scientists and engineers, who delivered
presentations and provided written reports oftheir findings. Countries
describing their technologies included: Poland (pre-processing, thermal
oxidation, and instrumentation), Russia (molten salt oxidation, plasma,
catalytic oxidation, supertoxicants, molten metal, fluid bed reactions,
and hydrogenation), Germany (supercritical water oxidation and
detoxification), the United Kingdom (electrochemical oxidation), the
United States (wet air oxidation, detoxification and biodegradation),
and the Czech Republic (biodegradation). The technologies identified for
assessment at the workshop are alternatives to incineration technology
for chemical warfare agent destruction. Treatment of metal parts and
explosive or energetic material were considered as a secondary issue.
The treatment of dunnage and problems associated with decontamination,
while recognized as an element of demilitarization, received only
limited discussion. The alternative technologies are grouped into three
categories based on process bulk operating temperature: low (O-200°C),
medium (200-600°C), and high (600-3,500°C). Reaction types considered
include hydrolysis, oxidation, electrochemical, hydrogenation, and
pyrolysis. These categories represent a broad spectrum of processes,
some of which have been studied only in the laboratory and some of which
are in commercial use for destruction of hazardous and toxic wastes.
Some technologies have been developed and used for specific commercial
applications.
