DISPOSAL OF CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS BY DISCHARGE-INDUCED POLYMERIZATION

CONVENTIONAL INCINERATOR COMBUSTION OF CHLOROFLOUROCARBONS AND HALONS PRODUCES AN EFFLUENT CONTAINING HALIDES AND UNCONSUMED FEED WHICH CANNOT BE SAFELY VENTED TO THE ATMOSPHERE. PHYSICAL SCIENCES INC. (PSI) PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A CLOSED SYSTEM DISCHARGE-INDUCED POLYMERIZATION TECHNIQUE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO DISPOSE OF THESE COMPOUNDS SAFELY. THE TECHNIQUE INVOLVES PASSING THE COMPOUNDS THROUGH A DISCHARGE IN A REDUCING ENVIRONMENT TO FACILITATE POLYMERIZATION. THE DISCHARGE CONDITIONS WILL BE SPECIFICALLY OPTIMIZED TO MAXIMIZE POLYMER YIELD AND MINIMIZE TOXIC, GASEOUS BYPRODUCTS. THE GAS PRODUCTS THAT ARE PRODUCED WILL BE CRYOGENICALLY TRAPPED FOR CONVENTIONAL DISPOSAL. THE SOLID POLYMER PRODUCT MAY FIND USE IN A COMMERCIAL APPLICATION OR MAY BE DISPOSED IN A LANDFILL. THE GOAL OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL BE TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE PROPOSED TECHNIQUE WITH A SIMPLE CAPACITIVE DISCHARGE. DECOMPOSITION EFFICIENCIES AND POLYMER FORMATION WILL BE DIRECTLY DETERMINED AS WELL AS THE YIELD OF OTHER GASEOUS PRODUCTS. ONCE THE PROOF-OF PRINCIPLE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, SCALE-UP OF THE SYSTEM TO PROCESS A KILOGRAM OF MATERIAL IN A REASONABLE TIME FRAME WILL BE PERFORMED AS PART OF A PHASE II PROGRAM.