The goal of this program was to develop a practical system to control hydrazine spills. The Department of Defense and NASA are major users of hydrazine-based fuels for rocket and aircraft propulsion systems, and the accidental release of hydrazine-based fuels poses hazards such as potential explosion or harmful health effects.
Foster-Miller developed special gels to control hydrazine fuel spills, and demonstrated the feasibility of a system that simultaneously absorbs and neutralizes the hazardous fuel. Polymeric gels with encapsulated enzymes are spread onto the hydrazine spill. The fuel is immediately wicked up and absorbed into the gels, preventing seepage into the surrounding areas. Once absorbed, the hydrazine is in contact with the encapsulated enzymes, which promptly mineralize the hydrazine in a controlled manner.
Polymeric gels were first developed to absorb over 20 times their dry weight in high concentrations of hydrazine. Enzymes were then found which degraded 50 percent concentrations of hydrazine with a removal efficiency of 95 to 99 percent. The extracted enzymes were successfully loaded into the gels. The gel-encapsulated enzyme system removed 90 percent of the hydrazine at a concentration of 50 percent. The operating cost of the system is approximately $8/liter of hydrazine treated, about the same as alternate methods that have more potential to exposure workers to spill hazards. Foster-Miller plans to test the system on controlled hydrazine spills.
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