PROJECT TITLE: Environmentally Safe Disposal of Hydrazine and Nitrogen Tetroxide Wastes
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Hydrazine-based fuels and nitrogen tetroxide-based oxidants are commonly used in many missiles, spacecraft and space launch vehicles. These chemicals are extremely toxic and highly energetic, and consequently very hazardous. Currently, water scrubbers are used effectively to remove their vapor contaminants in the process of storage and transfer. However, the scrubber effluents still require further treatment in a continuous manner to eliminate these wastes. A safe and effective decontamination method is urgently needed. The key to this project is the use of a hybrid system to convert both wastes into harmless N2 instead of toxic nitrogen oxides or nitrate. This will be achieved by using a combination of solid polymer electrolyte (SPE)-based fuel cell and electrolyzer. The wastes will be first “cold burned” in the fuel cell and then the unreacted species will be further decomposed in the electrolyzer. In addition to serving as an effective separator for the two different waste streams, the SPE will provide favorable reaction environments at the electrode/membrane interfaces for the efficient decomposition of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide through electrooxidation and electroreduction, respectively.
POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS
Spin-off technology associated with the proposed project will have great potential for use in treating many vapors of chemical compounds controlled under Hazardous Air Pollutants in the Clean Air Act. It is also of great interest to commercial launch vehicles as well as in the maintenance and operation of hydrazine-fueled auxiliary propulsion units on advanced aircraft.
NAME AND ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
King-Tsai Jeng
Lynntech, Inc.
7610 Eastmark Drive, Suite 202
College Station , TX 77840
NAME AND ADDRESS OF OFFEROR
Lynntech, Inc.
7610 Eastmark Drive, Suite 202
College Station , TX 77840-4042