The Evaporation and Degradation of N-Nitroso Dimethyl Amine in Aqueous Solutions
Abstract
The fate of N-Nitroso Dimethyl Amine (NDMA) in aqueous solutions and in a 25 percent caustic waste stream which is produced in the manufacture of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine (UDMH) is investigated. These studies were designed to approximate conditions which would effect evaporation and/or degradation of NDMA in an open lagoon. It was found that for basic solutions, the removal was primarily evaporation, whereas, evaporation is low for acid solutions and accounts for half the removal in neutral solutions. The rate of photolysis is greater in acid solutions. Additonal conclusions are that nitrite severely inhibits the photolysis of NDMA in acid and neutral pHs, and an increase in ionic strength slightly increases the evaporation rate. The implications of the above results for lagooning of the caustic NDMA waste streams are that the majority of the NDMA will volatilize from the solutions very rapidly unless the waste is neutralized. If the waste is neutralized, then photolysis would predominate unless nitrite is present, in which case, little of the NDMA would leave the lagoon either by volatilization or photolysis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA020922
Entities
People
- Michael G. Macnaughton
- Thomas B. Stauffer