Recovery Studies on RDX from Decommissioned Munitions

Munitions become obsolete due to the expiration of their shelf life, storage, or inappropriate conditions during use. In this study, it was aimed to recover and purify RDX from waste Composition-B (Comp-B) explosive, which is a mixture of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), which is the most commonly used as the main fusing agent in military munitions. Waste Comp-B samples were obtained from the munition in two different ways, and different RDX recovery percentages and purity were achieved. Comp-B was obtained both mechanically directly from the ammunition and through the recycling process by melting the main filling of the ammunition with hot water and steam method. TNT was removed from the samples obtained by both methods by utilizing the solubility differences of TNT and RDX in Toluene and RDX was obtained (rRDX). The recovery efficiency was 94% for Comp-B obtained by the mechanical method and 77% for the hot water/steam melting method. As a result of the subsequent purification process, RDX purity for both methods was calculated and determined to be more than 99%.