MINIATURE BUT MIGHTY
How Neutralization Works
Neutralization is a method of chemical agent destruction that uses water to break apart the chemical agent molecules. Agitating a mix of water and agent alone is often enough to destroy the agent because of the kinetic energy generated by the baffles in the system. The destruction byprod- uct the process produces is highly acidic. Typically, a second reagent is added, commonly sodium hydroxide, to reduce the acidity. That makes the byproduct less corrosive to the pipes and valves in the destruction system and makes it more suitable for disposal as a conventional hazardous waste.
The tricky part is coming up with the right quan- tities of water, agent and second reagent in the recipe. DEVCOM CBC has more than 100 years of experience with chemical agents and is a recog- nized world authority on how to achieve optimum destruction.
Marinelli compares it to finding the best recipe for baking a cake. “You have to look at the batch size you want, the temperature and the amount of agita- tion you want to maintain in the reaction vessel, plus the optimum time to agitate each batch. On top of that, you have to consider the ratio of agent and reagents for each batch.”
The recipe varies by chemical agent. For exam- ple, the VX nerve agent destroyed at the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency’s Newport, Indiana, stockpile site in the early 2000s used 20% sodium hydroxide at 90 degrees and a two-hour period of agitation to achieve destruction. Other U.S. stock- pile destruction facilities made minor variations to best meet the characteristics of the chemical agents in each stockpile.
REAGENT AND WATER FLOW
A specific chemical substance, called a reagent, is mixed with water to neutralize toxins. (Graphic by USAASC and Michael Marinelli, DEVCOM CBC)
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Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2025
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