Evaluation of a Transportable Hot-Gas Decontamination System for the Decontamination of Explosives-Contaminated Debris and Piping
Abstract
The manufacture, handling, and loading of explosives at Army industrial facilities have resulted in the contamination of process equipment such as piping, pumps, motors, powder boxes, and sewer systems. Because of this residual contamination, process equipment, piping and sewer lines cannot be reused or disposed as scrap without some sort of remedial treatment. Over the years, the U.S. Army Environmental Center (USAEC) has investigated technologies that could be used effectively to treat explosives-contaminated materials. Using process equipment supplied by the government, pilot studies conducted at Hawthorne Army Ammunition Plant have shown that decontamination of explosives-contaminated structural components is possible. The process used a heated gas to thermally decompose or volatilize explosives with subsequent incineration in an afterburner. Based on engineering data gathered during the Hawthorne pilot studies, WESTON, under contract to the United States Army Environmental Center (USAEC), was requested to design and supply a hot-gas decontamination system which is transportable and easily procured through commercial sources. The finished equipment was delivered to the Alabama Army Ammunition Plant (ALAAP) to conduct an equipment shakedown and validation testing using explosives-contaminated piping and oversized debris. The purpose of validation testing was to verify the effectiveness of the hot-gas process to remediate explosives contaminated piping and debris to levels which would allow this material to be disposed of as scrap and to maintain at least a 99.99% destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) of contaminants out of the system afterburner. A total of nineteen (19) test runs were conducted during the validation testing period.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADP017719
Entities
People
- Colleen A. Parker
- Louis Kanaras
- Vu X. Huynh