Preparation of Insensitive RDX From Crude RDX Using an Antisolvent Phase Separation Process

Abstract

This paper describes the separation of two of the most widely used explosive compounds, RDX (1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3, 5-triazacyclohexane) and HMX (1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7- tetraazacyclooctane). A simple antisolvent phase separation process to obtain more than 99 % pure RDX from an explosive mixture consisting of RDX (approx. 90 %) and HMX (approx. 10 %) was developed. The process does not require modifications to the existing RDX manufacturing process, and only minimal amounts of new waste products and solvents are generated as there is no chemical reaction or complexation involved in this new process.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA505750

Entities

People

  • Abburi Krishnaiah
  • Reddy Damavarapu
  • Veera M. Boddu

Organizations

  • Construction Engineering Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acetonitrile
  • Ammunition
  • Boiling Point
  • Diffraction
  • Engineering
  • Explosives
  • Filter Paper
  • Insensitive Explosives
  • Magnetic Resonance
  • Mixtures
  • Nitriles
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
  • Phase
  • Phase Separation
  • Spectra
  • X Rays
  • X-Ray Diffraction

Fields of Study

  • Chemistry

Readers

  • Agricultural Chemistry/Soil Science
  • Systems Analysis and Design