Back to results
US 8,012,411 B1Granted
Enhanced toxic cloud knockdown spray system for decontamination applications
AssigneeSandia Corporation
InventorsRita G. Betty, Mark D. Tucker, John E. Brockmann, Daniel A. Lucero, Bruce L. Levin, Jonathan Leonard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and systems for knockdown and neutralization of toxic clouds of aerosolized chemical or biological warfare (CBW) agents and toxic industrial chemicals using a non-toxic, non-corrosive aqueous decontamination formulation.
Claims31
A method of decontaminating cloud of toxic material, comprising:
- generating a co-dispersion of two different droplet size distributions of negatively-charged droplets of DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation;
- and
- contacting and chemically reacting the DF-200 droplets with the cloud of toxic material to neutralize and render the toxic cloud harmless;
- wherein the DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation comprises:
- a solubilizing agent selected from the group consisting of a cationic surfactant, a cationic hydrotrope, and a fatty alcohol;
- a reactive compound selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, urea hydrogen peroxide, hydroperoxycarbonate, peracetic acid, sodium perborate, sodium peroxypyrophosphate, sodium peroxysilicate, and sodium percarbonate;
- a bleaching activator selected from the group consisting of O-acetyl, N-acetyl, and nitrile group bleaching activators;
- and
- water;
- and
- wherein the co-dispersion comprises two different drop size distributions;
- (1) a small droplet size distribution, and (2) a large droplet size distribution;
- wherein the small droplet size distribution is chosen to provide optimum neutralization of the toxic material, and the large droplet size distribution is chosen to hasten the fallout of the small droplets;
- wherein generating the co-dispersion of the two different droplet size distributions comprises spraying the DF-200 formulation through two different size spray nozzles that are positioned side-by-side;
- wherein the small droplet size distribution has a mean size that ranges from 1 to 20 microns;
- and
- wherein the large droplet size distribution has a mean size that ranges from 10 to 100 microns.
14 more elements
A method of decontaminating a cloud of toxic material, comprising:
- generating a co-dispersion of two different droplet size distributions of negatively-charged droplets of DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation and
- contacting and chemically reacting the DF-200 droplets with the cloud of toxic material to neutralize and render the toxic cloud harmless;
- wherein the DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation comprises:
- a solubilizing agent selected from the group consisting of a cationic surfactant, a cationic hydrotrope, and a fatty alcohol;
- a reactive compound selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, urea hydrogen peroxide, hydroperoxycarbonate, peracetic acid, sodium perborate, sodium peroxypyrophosphate, sodium peroxysilicate, and sodium percarbonate;
- a bleaching activator selected from the group consisting of O-acetyl, N-acetyl, and nitrile group bleaching activators;
- and
- water;
- and
- wherein the co-dispersion comprises two different drop size distributions:
- (1) a small droplet size distribution, and (2) a large droplet size distribution;
- wherein the small droplet size distribution is chosen to provide optimum neutralization of the toxic material, and the large droplet size distribution is chosen to hasten the fallout of the small droplets;
- wherein generating the co-dispersion of the two different droplet distributions comprises spraying the DF-200 formulation through two different size spray nozzles that are positioned side-by-side;
- wherein the DF-200 droplets are sprayed from an elevated platform selected from the group consisting of a tower, a balloon, a cherry picker, and a mobile orchard sprayer.
11 more elements
A method of decontaminating a cloud of toxic material, comprising:
- generating, with a single nozzle, negatively-charged droplets of DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation;
- and
- contacting and chemically reacting the DF-200 droplets with the cloud of toxic material to neutralize and render the toxic cloud harmless;
- wherein the DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation comprises:
- a solubilizing agent selected from the group consisting of a cationic surfactant, a cationic hydrotrope, and a fatty alcohol;
- a reactive compound selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, urea hydrogen peroxide, hydroperoxycarbonate, peracetic acid, sodium perborate, sodium peroxypyrophosphate, sodium peroxysilicate, and sodium percarbonate;
- a bleaching activator selected from the group consisting of O-acetyl, N-acetyl, and nitrile group bleaching activators;
- and
- water;
- and
- wherein generating the droplets comprises spraying the DF-200 formulation through said single nozzle at a high pressure, to generate droplets having a small droplet size distribution;
- and
- wherein generating the droplets also comprises spraying the DF-200 formulation through the same said single nozzle at a low pressure, to generate droplets having a large droplet size distribution;
- and
- wherein the small droplet size distribution is chosen to provide optimum neutralization of the toxic material, and the large droplet size distribution is chosen to hasten the fallout of the small droplets;
- wherein the small droplet size distribution has a mean size that ranges from 1 to 20 microns;
- and
- wherein the large droplet size distribution has a mean size that ranges from 10 to 100 microns.
15 more elements
A method of decontaminating a cloud of toxic material, comprising:
- generating a co-dispersion of two different droplet size distributions of negatively-charged droplets of DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation;
- and
- contacting and chemically reacting the DF-200 droplets with the cloud of toxic material to neutralize and render the toxic cloud harmless;
- wherein the DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation comprises:
- a solubilizing agent selected from the group consisting of a cationic surfactant, a cationic hydrotrope, and a fatty alcohol;
- a reactive compound selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, urea hydrogen peroxide, hydroperoxycarbonate, peracetic acid, sodium perborate, sodium peroxypyrophosphate, sodium peroxysilicate, and sodium percarbonate;
- a bleaching activator selected from the group consisting of O-acetyl, N-acetyl, and nitrile group bleaching activators;
- and
- water;
- and
- wherein the co-dispersion comprises two different drop size distributions:
- (1) a small droplet size distribution, and (2) a large droplet size distribution;
- wherein the small droplet size distribution is chosen to provide optimum neutralization of the toxic material, and the large droplet size distribution is chosen to hasten the fallout of the small droplets;
- wherein generating the co-dispersion of the two different droplet size distributions comprises spraying the DF-200 formulation through two different size spray nozzles that are positioned side-by-side;
- wherein the small droplet size distribution has a mean size that ranges from 1 to 20 microns;
- and
- wherein the large droplet size distribution has a mean size that ranges from 10 to 100 microns;
- wherein the concentration of DF-200 sprayed into the toxic cloud is about 50 to 150 g/m3;
- wherein the DF-200 droplets are sprayed from an electrostatic induction spray nozzle operating with an applied voltage of about 1500 to 2000 Volts;
- with an air pressure of about 80 to 100 psi, and with a DF-200 liquid flow rate of about 200 to 250 mL/minute (per nozzle);
- wherein the DF-200 decontamination formulation has a pH value between about 9.6 and 9.8;
- wherein the cationic surfactant in the DF-200 formulation comprises a quaternary ammonium salt selected from the group consisting of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, cetylpyridinium chloride, alkyldimethylbenzylammonium salt, tetrabutyl ammonium bromide, and a mixture of benzyl (C12-C16) alkyldimethylammonium chlorides, and combinations thereof;
- wherein the ratio of the concentration of sprayed droplets of DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation (g/m3) to the concentration of the toxic material in the toxic cloud (g/m3) is at least 40:1;
- wherein the DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation comprises:
- 2-6% cationic surfactant,
- 2-6% sodium bicarbonate,
- 1-4% sodium carbonate,
- 1-10% propylene glycol,
- 1-5% silicone polyether liquid,
- 0.1-2% KOH,
- 1-5% diacetin,
- 1-8% hydrogen peroxide, and
- remainder water;
- wherein the cationic surfactant comprises a mix of alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chlorides and alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chlorides.
31 more elements
A method of decontaminating a cloud of toxic material, comprising:
- generating, with a single nozzle, negatively-charged droplets of DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation;
- and
- contacting and chemically reacting the DF-200 droplets with the cloud of toxic material to neutralize and render the toxic cloud harmless;
- wherein the DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation comprises:
- a solubilizing agent selected from the group consisting of a cationic surfactant, a cationic hydrotrope, and a fatty alcohol;
- a reactive compound selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, urea hydrogen peroxide, hydroperoxycarbonate, peracetic acid, sodium perborate, sodium peroxypyrophosphate, sodium peroxysilicate, and sodium percarbonate;
- a bleaching activator selected from the group consisting of O-acetyl, N-acetyl, and nitrile group bleaching activators;
- and
- water;
- and
- wherein generating the droplets comprises spraying the DF-200 formulation through said single nozzle at a high pressure, to generate droplets having a small droplet size distribution;
- and
- wherein generating the droplets also comprises spraying the DF-200 formulation through the same said single nozzle at a low pressure, to generate droplets having a large droplet size distribution;
- and
- wherein the small droplet size distribution is chosen to provide optimum neutralization of the toxic material, and the large droplet size distribution is chosen to hasten the fallout of the small droplets;
- wherein the small droplet size distribution has a mean size that ranges from 1 to 20 microns;
- and
- wherein the large droplet size distribution has a mean size that ranges from 10 to 100 microns;
- wherein the concentration of DF-200 sprayed into the toxic cloud is about 50 to 150 g/m3;
- wherein the DF-200 droplets are sprayed from an electrostatic induction spray nozzle operating with an applied voltage of about 1500 to 2000 Volts;
- with an air pressure of about 80 to 100 psi, and with a DF-200 liquid flow rate of about 200 to 250 mL/minute (per nozzle);
- wherein the DF-200 decontamination formulation has a pH value between about 9.6 and 9.8;
- wherein the cationic surfactant in the DF-200 formulation comprises a quaternary ammonium salt selected from the group consisting of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, cetylpyridinium chloride, alkyldimethylbenzylammonium salt, tetrabutyl ammonium bromide, and a mixture of benzyl (C12-C16) alkyldimethylammonium chlorides, and combinations thereof;
- wherein the ratio of the concentration of sprayed droplets of DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation (g/m3) to the concentration of the toxic material in the toxic cloud (g/m3) is at least 40:1;
- wherein the DF-200 aqueous decontamination formulation comprises:
- 2-6% cationic surfactant,
- 2-6% sodium bicarbonate,
- 1-4% sodium carbonate,
- 1-10% propylene glycol,
- 1-5% silicone polyether liquid,
- 0.1-2% KOH,
- 1-5% diacetin,
- 1-8% hydrogen peroxide, and
- remainder water;
- wherein the cationic surfactant comprises a mix of alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chlorides and alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chlorides.
32 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.