Safety investigations on trinitrotoluene/water-emulsions

In the disposal of explosives, preparation of the dismanted material is necessary before subjecting it to a breakdown process. Knowledge of the material properties and determination of safety-related parameters are major prerequirements when designing a disposal facility and increasing handling safety. When TNT is treated using emulsion processing, a desensitization of the TNT melt via the aqueous phase is obtained, in addition to increasing the surface area of the TNT phase. During the entire process of TNT treatment, the system is exposed to a wide range of different stresses as a result of the mechanical energy applied. This study presents the relults of an investigation on the sensitivity of pure TNT melts and TNT/water emulsions at different concentrations on exposure to the applied impact or shock energies. It is found that the impact sensitivity of a TNT/water emulsion is lower by a factor of 4 when the TNT concentration has been reduced from 50 wt % to 30 wt %. On exposure to s tress from a detonation shock wave, a desensitization of the system due to the aqueous phase is also found, so that the safety of the TNT treatment process can be increased by using a TNT/water emulsion when applying mechanical breakdown methods