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Treatment of Mixed
Wastes
Treatment of Chemical Weapons
Treatment of PCBs, Dioxins and Furans
Treatment of Explosives
Treatment of Chlorofluorocarbon Refrigerants and
Halons
Solvated Electron
Chemistry
A Versatile Alternative for Waste Detoxification
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Patents Held
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The Solvated Electron Technology (SET™) is a patented,
non-thermal chemical treatment technology developed by Commodore that destroys
virtually all halogenated organic compounds as well as explosives. SET™ has
proven successful in detoxifying a number of explosive compounds including: |
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| TNT |
Tetryl |
| RDX |
PETN |
| Nitrocellulose |
Comp B |
| Nitroglycerine |
M-28 |
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SET™ uses solvated electron solutions to destroy hazardous
contaminants. When soils or other materials, such as armaments, are put in
contact with the solution, free electrons in the fluid effectively strip off
halogens or other negatively charged elements or compounds that then react with
the sodium ions to form salts, hydroxides, etc. Benzenes and phenols are
converted to straight-chain hydrocarbons. Commodore's SET™ process destroys the
explosive component, without creating additional environmental issues.
Using this technique, the explosives are detoxified. The resulting products
have been found to contain none of the targeted analytes captured in the US
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Analytical Method 8330. In addition,
the reaction products have been found to be non-explosive using standard US
Department of Transportation tests.
BENEFITS OF SET™ FOR DETOXIFYING
EXPLOSIVES
Recognized by the EPA as a non-thermal process equivalent to
incineration, SET™ is the only multi-matrix chemical destruction process
approved for nationwide operation
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Eliminates the shipping and tracking of
the hazardous material as well as risk and liability.
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Explosives are destroyed, not just
removed or concentrated.
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Original soils and other materials can
be reused or
disposed.
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As a closed system, produces no
hazardous secondary wastes or off-gases.
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Operates at ambient temperatures.
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Transports and sets up quickly in less
than 4000 sq. ft of space.
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Can be scaled to accommodate the size
of the
project.
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Requires minimal amounts of power,
water and other
outside support.
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
Commodore has conducted treatability studies on explosive
contaminated soils to validate the use of SET™ for the cleanup of disposal
sites at ammunition plants, arsenals, and depots as well as EOD sites at both
active and inactive military installations.
The abilities of SET™ as a treatment for explosives has already been
demonstrated in several treatability studies, including:
As part of an on-going demonstration for the U.S. Army, Commodore has performed
treatability studies on a variety of pure explosives to demonstrate SET's
ability to destroy them safely. These tables present the results of those
studies.
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TABLE 1.
RESULTS FROM TREATING PURE EXPLOSIVES |
| Explosive |
Residual |
Detection Unit |
Effectiveness |
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TNT |
ND |
.03 mg/kg |
99.999% |
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RDX |
ND |
.03 mg/kg |
99.999% |
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Tetryl |
ND |
.03 mg/kg |
99.999% |
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CompB |
ND |
.03 mg/kg |
99.999% |
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M 28 |
ND |
100 mg/kg |
99.999% |
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ND = Non-Detect |
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TABLE
2.
THERMAL STABILITY RESULTS |
| Explosive |
Weight
Before |
Weight
After |
Weight
Loss |
Reaction |
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Comp B |
49.83g |
40.35g |
19.02g |
No |
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M 28 |
49.81g |
42.11g |
15.5g |
No |
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TABLE
3.
IMPACT SENSITIVITY AND
ELECTROSTATIC TEST RESULTS |
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Threshold
Energy |
Minimum
Ignition
Energy |
| Explosive |
Before |
Treated |
Before |
Treated |
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Comp B |
49.83g |
40.35g |
19.02g |
No |
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M 28 |
49.81g |
42.11g |
15.5g |
No |
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Commodore performed three treatability studies on soil
containing high explosives from the US Department of Energy Los Alamos National
Laboratory in New Mexico. The SET™ process effectively destroyed the RDX, HMX,
and 1,2 DNB. Testing by Method 8330 showed no detectable (ND) level of
explosive after treatment and the treated soil could be replaced.
Table 4 contains data from this study.
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TABLE 4.
DESTRUCTION OF EXPLOSIVES IN SOIL
LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY |
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HMX |
RDX |
1,2
DNB |
Not Treated
(mg/kg) |
1600 |
3580 |
9.6 |
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Treated (mg/kg) |
ND |
ND |
ND |
| Detection Limit |
.03 |
.03 |
.03 |
Destruction
Efficiency (%) |
99.9999 |
99.9999 |
99.99 |
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ND = Non-Detect |
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