Non-polluting process for desensitizing explosives
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
InventorMilton Roth
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Abstract
A method for desensitizing explosive materials consisting of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, comprises contacting the explosive material with a reductant containing no elements besides those contained in the explosive material for a period of time sufficient to desensitize said explosive, and thereafter disposing of said explosive by combustion or other means suitable for a non-explosive solid, e.g., landfill. The method of the present invention possesses important advantages in that it eliminates polluting by-products from prior art reductants and provides energy savings in reduced time and fuel requirements for the combustion of the explosive materials.
Claims5
A method for desensitizing an explosive material containing at most the elements of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, said method consisting essentially of:
- preparing a slurry of said explosive material in an aqueous solution of a reductant containing no elements besides those contained in said explosive material, said reductant being selected from the group consisting of acetaldehyde, citric acid, formaldehyde, formic acid, lactic acid, maleic acid, malic acid, malonic acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid and glucose, wherein said explosive material is present essentially in solid, particulate form, and
- reacting said explosive material and said reductant in said slurry for a period of time sufficient to achieve desensitization of said explosive material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.