Waste Disposal/Management System for Low Observable (LO) Composite Materials

A mobile thermochemical processing system is proposed to recycle LO-containing materials to merchant products that cannot be “reverse engineered” to their LO composition or structure- essentially, “thermochemical encryption.” Additionally, the system will include extraction and/or conversion processes that remove hazardous characteristics, qualifying the output for beneficial reuse. As a compact, mobile system, the thermochemical encryption reactor can be safely operated "behind the fence line," eliminating the need to transport classified material to non-secure facilities. Reactor configuration can support loading large components, minimizing the need for chopping or grinding. Although the primary objective is to convert LO-containing materials, the system will also have general-purpose capabilities to convert hazardous waste such as plating sludge and paint wastes to benign merchant products. Materials with high carbon content (e.g. composites, organic wastes) will be converted to mineral carbonates, permanently sequestering the carbon and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.