The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 06, 1987
Filed:
Nov. 05, 1986
Porter H Mitchell, Fayetteville, TN (US);
William S Melvin, Huntsville, AL (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
An effective method to recover the catalyst material, ferrocene or its deatives, from high burn rate propellants comprises the method which uses compressed gas in the form of a near critical liquid to extract, remove, and recover the specific catalyst material directly from rocket motors or from chunks of cut propellant. The method comprises introducing compressed carbon dioxide into a pressure vessel containing the propellant from which the catalyst material is to be recovered. The carbon dioxide as a near critical liquid (NCL) is circulated within the pressure vessel where extraction of ferrocene or its derivatives directly from the propellant takes place. The NCL with extractibles is transported to a warming and recovery zone where the extractibles are recovered after the carbon dioxide is volatilized and returned for recycling, compressing, and further extracting after being adjusted to a near critical liquid. Analytical data indicates that from 99.8% to 100% of ferrocence or its derivatives is readily recoverable from propellant which is undergoing demilitarization after it is determined to have burning rate, sensitivity, or other measureable changes to be out of system specification. After recovery of the high dollar value catalyst material, the propellant can be safely handled for removal using conventional water jet apparatus to cut and remove the propellant for reclamation of any of the propellant ingredients.