Application of repetitive pulsed power technology to chemical processing

Summary form only given. The numerous sites of soil and water contaminated with organic chemicals present an urgent environmental concern that continues to grow. Electron and X-ray irradiation have been shown to be effective methods to destroy a wide spectrum of organic chemicals, nitrates, nitrites, and cyanide in water by breaking molecules to non-toxic products or entirely mineralizing the by-products to gas, water, and salts. Irradiation may also be a cost-effective pre-treatment of compounds resistant to bioremediation. Sandia National Laboratories is developing repetitive high energy pulsed power (RHEPP) technology capable of producing high average power, broad area electron or X-ray beams. The 300 kW RHEPP-II facility accelerates electrons to 2.5 MeV at 25 kA over 1000 cm/sup 2/ in 60 ns pulses at repetition rates of over 100 Hz. Linking this modular treatment capability with our rapid optical-sensing diagnostics and neural network characterization software algorithms will provide a smart waste treatment (SWaT) system. Such a system would also be applicable for chemical manufacture and processing of industrial waste for reuse or disposal. We describe both the RHEPP treatment capability and sensing technologies. Measurements of the propagated RHEPP-II beam and dose profiles are presented. Sensors and rapid detection software are also discussed with application toward chemical treatment.