Elemental Characterization and Discrimination of Nontoxic Ammunition Using Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis and Principal Components Analysis.

Concerns over the toxic by-products produced by traditional ammunition have led to an increase in popularity of nontoxic ammunition. In this work, the chemical composition of six brands of nontoxic ammunition was investigated and compared to that of a road flare, which served as an environmental source with similar composition. Five rounds of each brand were fired while a further five were disassembled and the primer alone was fired. Particles collected from all samples, including the road flare, were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Common elements among the different ammunition brands included aluminum, potassium, silicon, calcium, and strontium. Spectra were then subjected to principal components analysis in which association of the primer to the intact ammunition sample was generally possible, with distinction among brands and from the road flare sample. Further, PCA loadings plots indicated the elements responsible for the association and discrimination observed.

Wet air oxidation of formic acid using nanoparticle-modified polysulfone hollow fibers as gas-liquid contactors.

Catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) using membrane contactors is attractive for remediation of aqueous pollutants, but previous studies of even simple reactions such as formic acid oxidation required multiple passes through tubular ceramic membrane contactors to achieve high conversion. This work aims to increase single-pass CWAO conversions by using polysulfone (PS) hollow fibers as contactors to reduce diffusion distances in the fiber lumen. Alternating adsorption of polycations and citrate-stabilized platinum colloids in fiber walls provides catalytically active PS hollow fibers. Using a single PS fiber, 50% oxidation of a 50 mM formic acid feed solution results from a single pass through the fiber lumen (15 cm length) with a solution residence time of 40 s. Increasing the number of PS fibers to five while maintaining the same volumetric flow rate leads to over 90% oxidation, suggesting that further scale up in the number of fibers will facilitate high single pass conversions at increased flow rates. The high conversion compared to prior studies with ceramic fibers stems from shorter diffusion distances in the fiber lumen. However, the activity of the Pt catalyst is 20-fold lower than in previous ceramic fibers. Focusing the Pt deposition near the fiber lumen and limiting pore wetting to this region might increase the activity of the catalyst.