During the mid 1980s, the problems of disposing of toxic military materials gained increasing
attention. In response, the Army Research Office (ARO) expanded its basic research program
on destruction of toxic materials. Previously focused on Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA)
decontamination to protect the soldier under attack, the program changed to include weapon
demilitarization. ARO reviewed those technologies in use and those in preparation to
transform highly toxic organic compounds to relatively benign products and transformation
chemistries that move completely to products with no possibility for back reactions. We sought
chemistries that required the introduction of no or only a minimum of additional reagents. This
assessment led us to focus on medium and high temperature oxidation and, specifically, on
incineration and supercritical water oxidation (SCWO). This talk will describe subsequent
Army supported university research, the principal experimental challenges encountered, salt
deposition and corrosion, and work done in DOE and other labs to attack a wide range of
difficult waste problems.
Keywords: supercritical water oxidation, SCWO, corrosion, Army research