Numerical Simulation of the Thermal Destruction of Organophosphorous

Abstract

The organophosphorus class of compounds has several usages nowadays. Some halogenated organophosphorus are used as flame retardants, and others are used as pesticides worldwide. In the last case, those compounds are subject to law regulation. They are now used as chemical weapons in many wars and terrorist attacks. Due to this variety of usages and the high toxicity of such compounds, the study of the proper treatment for residues containing those substances is significant to prevent the degradation of soil, water, and the atmosphere. For these reasons, the present study conducted numeric simulations of the incineration of organophosphorus compounds using kinetic models of combustion and pyrolysis found in the literature. The study of the degradation of this class of substances and the pollutant formation was made by simulating a homogeneous zeroth-order reactor and a continuous stirred tank reactor model. Due to the results of the simulations, the degradation made with the batch mode operation is efficient in the degradation of the substances considered in this work. The stream-containing process products have CO2, CO, HF, HOPO, and HOPO2. The three last cited have no determination about the emission ranges in the legislation, but their concentrations indicate the necessity of treatment for them. Furthermore, it was possible to evaluate the negative influence of the hydrocarbon used as fuel and the presence of CO2 in the degradation of the organophosphate compounds.