Processing of trinitrotoluene-water emulsions for recycling

Prodn. of aq. TNT emulsions, from melt removal of TNT in the dismantling of unexpended military ordnance, can be accomplished using emulsifying machines based on the rotor-stator principle (e.g., ring gear dispersion machines or colloid mills). Droplet size redn. resulted from the normal and tangential stresses applied to the droplet as it is subjected to laminar or turbulent flow fields. Knowledge of the droplet size and droplet size distribution of the dispersed phase was important to det. the quality of an emulsion and the emulsification process. Results from the discontinuous prodn. of aq. TNT emulsions were presented. In addn., the use of laser diffraction spectrometry for analyzing TNT emulsion droplet size was described.