Supercrtiical Water Oxidation (SCWO) and the Army

During the mid 1980s, the problems of disposing of toxic military materials gained increasing attention. In response, the Army Research Office (ARO) expanded its basic research program on destruction of toxic materials. Previously focused on Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA) decontamination to protect the soldier under attack, the program was expanded to include weapon demilitarization. ARO reviewed those technologies in use and those in preparation to transform highly toxic organic compounds to relatively benign products and transformation chemistries that move completely to products with no possibility for back reactions. We sought chemistries that required the introduction of no or only a minimum of additional reagents. This assessment led us to focus on medium and high temperature oxidation and, specifically, on incineration and supercritical water oxidation (SCWO). This talk will describe subsequent Army supported university research, the principal experimental challenges encountered, salt deposition and corrosion, and work done in DOE and other labs to attack a wide range of difficult waste problems.