Self-Contained Automated Vehicle Washing System with Microwave Decontamination

Combat vehicles must be completely decontaminated to eliminate threats to the health and safety of military personnel. This necessitates a portable, field deployable, self-contained, and automated washing system. Wastewater, mud, and debris from washing operations must be treated to destroy harmful contaminants. An enclosed washing system with specialized decontamination equipment will reduce the threat to military personnel and allow the re-use of the wash water. The objective of this proposal is to develop a portable, automated vehicle washing system that collects the wash water and catalytically destroys the harmful contaminants in water. CHA Corporation has developed and field demonstrated microwave water decontamination technology. CHA Corporation has also developed microwave air and solid decontamination technologies. OctaFlex Environmental Systems developed and field demonstrated the Containerized Assembled Wash-down Facility (CAWF). CHA Corporation’s microwave decontamination technology combined with OctaFlex’s CAWF will provide a portable system for washing and decontaminating vehicles that recycles the water and protects military personnel from contacting dangerous contaminants. During Phase I the engineering design for a portable washing/decontamination unit combining the CHA and Octaflex systems will be developed and technical and economic feasibility will be assessed. A prototype system will be designed based on the Phase I engineering design.