Potential Usage of Aqueous Alum for Decomposition of Chemical Warfare Agents. Part 2: Reactions with VX and QL
Abstract
The destruction of chemical warfare agents (CWA's), particularly 0-ethyl- S-[2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl] methyiphosponothiolate (VX), has been the focus of many articles in the popular media and in professional news journals such as Chemical and Engineering News.1,2,3 One of the main concerns with CWA detoxification is the potential threat that hydrolysis by-products may be recovered for reuse in CWA synthesis.2 There is also concern about the transport, treatment, and disposal of hydrolysate among environmental groups and citizen stake-holders in states where the proposed destruction is to occur.2 Truly environmentally friendly means of detoxifying CWAs have yet to be developed, and the possibility of using alum and alum mixtures may be one feasible attractive alternative. Trapping hydrolysis by-products in a coagulant floc can make them very difficult to recover. Municipal water treatment facilities have a long history of using alum (aluminum sulfate) and alum mixtures as coagulants in the purification and finishing of drinking water. Our previous studies have shown alum and alum buffered by the addition of sodium aluminate to be effective in the destruction of G agents, particularly pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate (GD).4 The work we did with VX, however, was inconclusive owing to the lack of internal standards to determine the initial amount of agent loss upon treatment. Rate studies without controls seemed to indicate that VX was susceptible to alum treatment, and literature precedent indicated that solid state Al203 nano-particles were also effective to a degree in destroying %%5 Furthermore, the question arose as to whether alum and alum buffers would be useful in destroying the phosphorus-based precursor of VX, O-ethyl-O'-[(2-isopropylamino)ethyl] methylphosphonite (OL). Hydrolysis kinetics have been studied for a large number of CWAs,5,6,7 and all indications are that the rates are pH dependent.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA454991
Entities
People
- Bradley J. Mckineey
- Christopher L. De Leon
- Daniel J. Williams
- David J. Mcgarvey
- H. Dupont Durst
- Jeffrey S. Rice
- Melanie J. Sanders
- Vicky L.H. Bevilacqua
- William R. Creasy
Organizations
- Edgewood Chemical Biological Center