[CPEO-MEF] Alternative to rocket propellant burning

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Last year, when I attended one of the hearings about the proposed
continuation of open burning and open detonation at the Sierra Army
Depot, I noted that much of the Depot's waste solid rocket fuel burning,
conducted a few years back, occurred because activists had chased the
activity out of my county, Santa Clara. I also remembered that a small
number of activists nationwide had supported the Pentagon's efforts to
develop alternatives to open burning as a disposal method for large
solid rocket motor fuel. I knew some pilot plants had been built, but I
had lost track of the state of the emerging technologies.

Last week a permit modification proposal crossed my desk, filling in
some of the blanks. United Technologies Corporation's Chemical Systems
Division facility in San Jose, the plant which had been targeted by
activists because it formerly conducted open burning wholesale, has
apparently been using an on-site Hydrolysis Treatment Facility since
1997. Located at the intersection of Oxidizer Road and Mixer Road
(honest!), more than a half-mile within the UTC property, the facility
is capable of treating up to 200 pounds of either major formulation (1.1
or 1.3) of solid rocket propellant per day. The propellant is production
waste generated during on-site manufacturing and research operations.

In the treatment facility, water and sodium hydroxide are added to the
propellant. Aluminum, one of the principal components of solid rocket
fuel, reacts to form aluminum hydroxide and hydrogen. Ammonium
perchlorate, the other principal component, reacts to form sodium
perchlorate and ammonia. The products are not ignitable, but they still
may require further treatment or disposal as hazardous waste. Emissions
of ammonia, hydrogen, and nitrogen oxides are monitored, and they may be
subject to emission control.

The permit modification request makes it clear that the company thinks
it can make the process more efficient, but it appears that hydrolysis,
as a method for demilitarizing solid rocket fuel, is a major step
forward.

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org


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