MOLTEN METAL TREATS C.W.

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

From: Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>

M4 CLAIMS CATALYTIC EXTRACTION SUCCESS
M4 Environmental, a limited partnership between Lockheed Martin Corp. 
and Molten Metal Technology Inc., claims that its proprietary Catalytic 
Extraction Processing (CEP) technology has "safely and effectively" 
destroyed mustard and nerve agent. M4 is one of three companies hoping 
to demonstrate alternative methods - that is, other than incineration - 
for destruction of the U.S. chemical munitions stockpile.
M4's press statement reads: "The tests were conducted this month 
[March, 1996] on a CEP demonstration facility built at the Battelle 
Memorial Institute, a facility certified by the Army for such work. The 
demonstration showed greater than 99.999999 percent [that's eight 
nines] destruction of these deadly agents, which is 100 times better 
than current regulatory standards designed to protect human health and 
the environment."
Though CEP is a high-temperature process, it is generally considered 
closed loop. The company explains: "In CEP, wastes are piped into a 
sealed bath of low pressure molten metal. The catalytic properties of 
the system break down the chemical compounds in the agent to their 
primary elements. These elements are reconfigured as industrial 
products and extracted as recyclable gases, ceramics, and metal alloys 
by adding select chemicals and materials, such as oxygen and alumina, 
to the process."