Reactants and Combustion Processes for Neutralization of Chemical and Biological Agents

The neutralization and destruction of chemical and biological agents requires unique approaches because of the hazards associated with dispersing materials that may not have been completely neutralized. The METSS Team is proposing to use formulations,similar to incendiary devices with spreading characteristics like NAPALM, that contain energetic materials combinations including specialty polymers/oligomers. At normal temperatures such formulations will be inert, but at elevated temperatures theenergetic materials can be activated to release very active species. The latter, combined with the byproducts of combustion, will provide the necessary conditions for destroying chemical and biological agents. Mathematical models will be used to predictthe nature and outcome of the combustion products and the possible reaction products. These results, in turn, will be used in an iterative manner to direct the formulation efforts for this concept.The formulations developed will be stable duringproduction, transportation, and storage. When thermally activated, they will produce a highly reactive, dispersed combustion zone that should find use in battlefield conditions where chemical and/or biological agents have been deployed and residence timesfor neutralization reactions may be short. In addition, these novel formulations should be useful for non-military situations where chemical and/or biological agents are released, such as in terrorist atacks or cult demonstrations. They should beespecially effective in contained areas.