A NEW APPROACH FOR THE REMOVAL OF CHLORATE IMPURITY FROM MILITARY GRADE AMMONIUM PERCHLORATE USING STABILIZED ZERO-VALENT IRON NANOPARTICLES

In this work we propose a new technique for the removal and elimination of chlorate impurity from ammonium perchlorate based on nanotechnology using nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI). At first, stabilized nZVI was synthesized using the borohydride reduction method in the presence of starch as a stabilizing agent, characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) and then used for the removal of chlorate in an ammonium perchlorate solution. The effects of the key parameters in the chlorate elimination process, including pH, temperature, amount of nZVI, and reaction time, were investigated. The experimental results showed that under optimum conditions, chlorate can be completely removed from an ammonium perchlorate solution by nZVI within 90 min at room temperature.