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TNT — Design Life-Cycle

v:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Table Normal; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Dorothy Enomoto December 9, 2014 DES 40A Professor Christina Cogdell Wastes and Emissions of TNT Trinitrotoluene, most commonly referred to as TNT, is known for being an explosive. TNT is mostly ociated with war and the military. Radford, a production facility of TNT, emits thousands of toxic chemicals into the environment ever year in order to keep producing TNT. The emissions released from making TNT are far more harmful than regular green house gases. Not only are toxic chemicals released into the air, but they can also spread by water and land. It is highly important to take precaution when dealing with TNT or even living in an environment near an area exposed to this product. Exposure to high levels of these emissions can result in serious health problems. Many people know the main purpose of TNT, but they rarely know how much waste and emissions are created in order to produce TNT.    Along with any production process, there is usually some type of output whether it is waste or byproducts that come out of extracting raw materials. In this case, Radford does not make their raw materials. They actually get their raw materials from other manufacturing facilities. The umption was made that no toxic byproducts were extracted since raw materials do not primarily come from Radford. Although, there is pollution emitted into the air through the transportation of these materials from one destination to another. The umption is made that the transportation of these materials takes place in a semi-truck. It was hard finding information on Radford’s raw materials. Most sites only talked about how the process started and what chemicals were needed. There were not any sources that stated if Radford made their raw materials from scratch or if they get them transported to their facility.              Within the last seventy years, a community developed within five miles of the manufacturing facility. This exposed thousands of people in the community to the toxic emissions released by Radford, whether it was air emissions or emissions released into “surrounding waters” (Wikipedia). Emissions to the air come from leaks in equipment and valves, vents, open doors in the building and spills and material handling. Emissions to water occur when toxic substances reach sources of water such as “dams, lakes, rivers, and coastal waters” (NPI).  In the old process, one of the first steps to form TNT is nitration. This is when toluene and a mixed acid are nitrated together to form crude TNT. Nitration is a chemical process that takes a nitro group and combines it to an organic chemical compound. From this nitration, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and spent acid are produced as byproducts. Spent acid is a “regeneration and production” of sulfuric acid (Wikipedia). This spent acid is the only byproduct that is recycled back into the entire process. It is only recycled back into the nitration step. The other byproducts offer no other use in this process. There is not much recycling of chemicals or products that get used for anything else for the manufacturing and production of TNT. Products travel many miles to reach consumers whether it involves boat, train, plane, or automobile and produce greenhouse gases. With the umption that Radford uses semi-trucks to distribute their TNT to consumers, the conclusion can be made that green house g es are in fact emitted into the air. Semi-trucks use diesel gasoline, which release several pollutants into the air. The pollutants emitted into the air include: volatile organic compounds, THC, CO, NOX (nitrogen oxides), PM10 (regulated pollutant), and PM2.5 (fine particulate) (EPA2008). By looking at table 1 provided, it is clear to see the comparison of emission rates between gasoline and diesel fuel. Heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDV) do not seem to release as much green house gases into the environment as heavy-duty gasoline-fueled vehicles do (HDGV). For certain gases though, heavy-duty diesel vehicles do emit more. Table 2 shows the average emission rates of vehicles based on different weight cl ifications and the type of fuel. In summary, the level of pollution released into the environment reflects on the type of transportation used. Transportation is not the only thing that emits pollutions into the air. There are other things to consider especially when it comes to thinking about the consumers and the precautions they should take. Every explosion will have a reaction. Many people correlate energy as the ability to do work. Explosions from TNT occur as large amounts of stored energy convert to heat in a “confined” space (Ni). A significant amount of energy is necessary for this process to occur. In fact, one pound of TNT consists of 2723J of energy (Ni). The gas expansion and extreme build up of pressure causes the explosion and forces debris to fly everywhere in its surroundings. The handling of a product like TNT should be handled with caution due to the effects caused by exposure. People expose themselves to TNT simply through breathing, eating, touching, and drinking (DHSS). When exposure occurs, the bloodstream absorbs TNT which then travels to the organs” within the body (DHSS). For humans with high levels of TNT exposure, the chances of developing blood disorders and liver problems increase. This also shows to be true for s, and unfortunately male s appeared to experience reproductive problems in addition to the other health issues. Radford’s primary consumer is the military. That makes sense considering the uses for TNT. The recycling process of TNT regarding chemical, water, and air pollution outputs do not involve many things. No recycling actually takes place after the use of TNT. The old process involves no recycling after the use of TNT. On the other hand, due to yearly enormous amounts of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emitted into the air, Radford created a new system that decreases the amount of toxic airborne emissions by “ten tons”. In order to make this decrease in emissions every year, they started capturing the emissions in an “effective weak nitric acid crystallization process” (Elliott). This change became know as the new process. The main reason for the new process was because they needed a more cost effective way to produce TNT and a way to be more eco-friendly. The emissions created end up sent through a fume abatement tower and carbon monoxide oxidizer, which completely eradicated the step responsible for the “significant quantities” of nitrous oxide (Elliott). Degradation of TNT occurs mostly in surface soil found in bomb ranges or areas of military and war. For the next step to occur, it needs to reach surface water. The surface water allows the TNT to undergo photolysis at a vast rate. Photolysis is a chemical reaction that breaks down chemical compounds by photons or by the absorption of light (EPA). In this reaction, photodegradation occurs to several degradation products and 1,2,5-trinitrobenzene is the primary one. In addition to degradation, TNT also exhibits biodegradation, but at a less hastily rate in water (EPA). The main products for biodegradation include: 2-amino-4, 6-dinitrotoluene, 2,6-diamino-4-nitrotoluene, and 2,4-diamino-6-nitrotoluene (EPA). TNT contributes to environmental hazards due to the waste produced throughout the formation process. TNT enters the environment through: spills, firing of munitions (war weapons), disposal of ordnance (military weapons and ammunitions), leaks from inadequately sealed impoundments, demilitarization of munitions, and manufacturing and processing facilities (EPA). TNT emissions can be categorized into three sections: air, water, and land. There is no dump for the old process, but there are nitrator vessel dumps in the new process. The nitrator vessel dumps store emissions from the fume abatement tower and the carbon monoxide oxidizer stated earlier. Once they are full, maintenance tanks collect the dumps. There was a failure on finding information on what Radford does with the maintenance tanks after they do their collecting. There was no information that could be found about it, the sources only said that the dumps were collected. The overall process to produce something like TNT is complex and has many steps to it. Most of the steps are chemical processes. It is interesting that Radford does not make their own raw materials, especially when their starting chemicals need to be pure. It was hard finding information about this part, which is why the umption was made that semi-trucks are probably used to transport the needed raw materials to Radford, from wherever they order from. The emissions that Radford releases definitely impact the surrounding environment. The amounts released from the old process were way too high, therefore they needed to find a new process to decrease the emissions and become more eco-friendly. That is very important because they are affecting people’s lives. Exposure to these toxins can really damage a person’s health. The new process was better because it proved to be more cost effective.  Radford was able to recycle a byproduct as well as market it towards mining manufacturers. There was difficulty in finding information relating to this because most sources were not specifying which process they were referring to, either the old or the new. TNT requires huge amounts of energy to get an explosion. The debris from the explosions go into surrounding areas and contaminate water sources. The only thing recycled from the production process is a form of sulfuric acid. Most byproducts are just waste. The hardest part about this product was the fact that the life cycle of TNT is short.  There is not much left TNT does after it is used by the consumer. Most of it is just emitted into the environment and nothing gets recycled.  There are a lot of things that go into making TNT that many people do not realize. They do not think about the amount of waste and emissions that are produced and released, the recycling if anything, and what happens after it is used.    Works Cited 2,4,6-TRINITROTOLUENE (TNT) . N.p.: Delaware Health and Social Services, Jan. 2010. PDF. Average In-Use Emissions from Heavy-Duty Trucks . N.p.: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Oct. 2008. PDF. Elliott, Deborah. Toxic Red Water Eliminated from TNT Production at Radford. Toxic Red Water Eliminated from TNT Production at Radford . N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. . Emission Estimation Technique Manual for Explosives Manufacturing . N.p.: National Pollutant Inventory, Aug. 1999. PDF. Explosives . N.p.: Organic Chemical Process Industry, 4 Dec. 2014. PDF. Ni, James F. Energy and Power. Energy and Power and the Physics of Explosions . Zeth Anul EnterpriZe and Lucas S. Morales, 2007. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. . Radford Army Ammunition Plant Pollution Prevention Team . N.p.: Pollution Prevention Team, 5 Dec. 2014. PDF. Sulfuric Acid. Wikipedia . Wikimedia Foundation, 12 July 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. . Technical Fact Sheet – 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) . N.p.: Environmental Protection Agency, Jan. 2014. PDF. Trinitrotoluene. Wikipedia . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. .  

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