Surrogate burns in deactivation furnace system.

The deactivation furnace system at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah is designed for processing explosive components from munitions containing nerve and mustard agents. The system was installed during the period of 1989 through 1993. The Utah Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste (UDSHW) required that trial burns be conducted using surrogate chemicals prior to introducing chemical agents into the system. The selected surrogate chemicals were monochlorobenzene and hexachloroethane based on the criteria established by the UDSHW. Three surrogate runs were conducted in October, 1995. The gaseous emissions and liquid and solid effluents were sampled and analyzed using approved EPA methods. The trial burns demonstrated the desirable destruction and removal efficiency for the selected surrogate chemicals. The pollution abatement system demonstrated the desired scrubbing efficiency for acid gases generated during incineration of chlorinated surrogate chemicals. The particulate removal efficiency during the trial burns was also considerably higher than required by regulations. After comprehensive review of the performance of the deactivation furnace system during the surrogate trial burns, UDSHW approved introduction of GB nerve agent into the system to prepare it for agent trial burns.
(Copyright 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.)