Resource recovery system
AssigneeAerojet-General Corporation
InventorStanley E. Spas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Waste energetic compositions such as solid rocket propellant are treated to reclaim valuable aluminum particles and oxidizer in a form in which they can be reused, and to incinerate the remaining solids in a totally environmentally sound manner. An initial percentage (40-50% by weight) of the oxidizer is extracted during hydromining when the propellant is removed from the casing of a rocket motor. Additional oxidizer (35-45% by weight) is extracted from the propellant during subsequent underwater high speed maceration operations. The residual material containing mostly aluminum and binder matrix is thermally destroyed in a closed incinerator and the aluminum recovered as very high purity aluminum oxide.
Claims21
A process for recovering aluminum oxide from rocket propellant comprising the steps of:
- providing a quantity of rocket propellant comprising a binder, aluminum and an oxidizer;
- removing oxidizer from said quantity of rocket propellant to yield a material comprising aluminum and oxidizer in an amount less than or equal to about 15% by weight of the material;
- thermally treating said material in a combustion chamber at a reducing atmosphere to essentially yield aluminum oxide particles;
- and
- collecting the aluminum oxide particles directly from the combustion chamber.
A process for recovering aluminum oxide from rocket propellant comprising the steps of:
- providing a rocket engine having solid rocket propellant comprising a binder, aluminum and an oxidizer;
- removing the propellant from the rocket engine such that a plurality of pieces of the propellant are formed;
- reducing the size of the propellant pieces and extracting oxidizer in a manner such that a mass of particulate comprising aluminum and having less than or equal to about 15% by weight oxidizer is formed;
- placing a quantity of the particulate mass in a chamber;
- thermally treating the particulate mass in the chamber at a reducing atmosphere to result in incomplete combustion of the mass to essentially yield aluminum oxide particles;
- and
- collecting the aluminum oxide particles from the chamber.
A method for recovering aluminum oxide from rocket propellant comprising the steps of:
- providing solid rocket propellant comprising a binder, aluminum and ammonium perchlorate;
- cutting the propellant and extracting ammonium perchlorate in a manner such that a mass of particulate, having about a 1/8 inch particle size, comprising aluminum, and having less than or equal to about 15% by weight ammonium perchlorate, is formed;
- placing a quantity of the particulate in a combustion chamber;
- thermally treating the particulate mass in the combustion chamber by maintaining the temperature in the chamber in the range of about 1800.degree.-2000.degree. F. while maintaining a reducing atmosphere therein to result in incomplete combustion of the mass to essentially yield aluminum oxide particles;
- and
- collecting the aluminum oxide particles directly from the combustion chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.