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Hydrolysis of Dimethyl Methylphosphonate (DMMP) in Hot-Compressed Water
Brian R Pinkard1, Shreyas Shetty1, John C Kramlich1
1Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry. A
|September 16, 2020
Summary
Dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) hydrolysis in hot-compressed water effectively neutralizes chemical warfare agents. This process yields only stable, less-toxic compounds like methylphosphonic acid and methanol.
Area of Science:
- Chemical Engineering
- Environmental Chemistry
- Reaction Kinetics
Background:
- Dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) serves as a safer surrogate for organophosphate nerve agents due to similar physicochemical properties.
- Effective neutralization of chemical warfare agents is crucial for national security and environmental safety.
- Hydrothermal processing offers a potential method for degrading hazardous chemical compounds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the continuous hydrolysis kinetics of DMMP in hot-compressed water.
- To evaluate the impact of temperature and pressure on DMMP hydrolysis reaction rates.
- To determine the reaction products and assess their toxicity for neutralization applications.
Main Methods:
- DMMP hydrolysis was conducted in a continuous hydrothermal reactor.
- Experiments were performed at temperatures ranging from 200 to 300 °C and pressures of 20 and 30 MPa.
- Residence times varied between 30 and 80 seconds, with reaction products analyzed for identification and quantification.
Main Results:
- DMMP hydrolysis followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, yielding methylphosphonic acid and methanol as the sole detectable products.
- Temperature significantly influenced the hydrolysis rate, while pressure showed no discernible effect under the tested conditions.
- Pseudo-first-order Arrhenius parameters were determined: activation energy (Ea) = 90.17 ± 5.68 kJ/mol and pre-exponential factor (A) = 10^(7.51±0.58) s^-1.
Conclusions:
- Continuous hydrolysis in hot-compressed water is an effective method for neutralizing DMMP, a surrogate for nerve agents.
- The process generates only stable, less-toxic compounds, indicating its potential for chemical warfare agent decontamination.
- Understanding the reaction kinetics, particularly the temperature dependence, is vital for optimizing hydrothermal neutralization systems.
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