Reclaiming TNT and aluminum from tritonal and tritonal-containing munitions

Abstract

A process for the recovery of TNT and aluminum from tritonal-containing military shells. The process uses a solvent in which the TNT is substantially soluble, but not the aluminum. This results in a liquid organic solvent phase and a solid aluminum particle phase. The aluminum particles are recovered by conventional solid-liquid separation techniques, such as filtering, gravity settling, and the like. The TNT is recovered from the solvent by flashing or evaporating the solvent and recrystallizing the TNT.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A process for separately recovering TNT and aluminum particles from an explosive containing aluminum particles in a TNT matrix, which process comprises; 
 a) treating the explosive with a solvent in which said TNT is substantially soluble and in which said aluminum particles are substantially insoluble, thereby resulting in a slurry of aluminum particles in TNT/solvent solution;    b) separating said aluminum particles from said TNT/solvent solution; and    c) recovering said TNT from said solvent.    
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of acetone, cyclohexanone, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 2  wherein the solvent is acetone.  
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the separation technique for separating the aluminum particles from the TNT/solvent solution is selected from the group consisting of gravity settling and filtration.  
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the TNT is recovered from the solvent by evaporating the solvent.  
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the recovered aluminum particles are dried using a substantially inert gas.  
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 6  wherein the substantially inert gas is nitrogen.  
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the solvent, after TNT separation, is condensed and recycled.