Factors Influencing Destruction of Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP)

Acid catalyzes the formation of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) from acetone and hydrogen peroxide, but acid also destroys TATP, and, under certain conditions, converts TATP to diacetone diperoxide (DADP). Addition of strong acids to TATP can cause an explosive reaction, while reaction with dilute acid reduces the decomposition rate so drastically that gentle destruction of TATP is impractical. However, combined use of dilute acid with slightly solvated TATP made gentle destruction of TATP feasible. Variables including acid type, concentration, solvent and ratios thereof have been explored, along with kinetics, in an attempt to provide a field‐safe technique for gently destroying this homemade primary explosive. The preferred method is moistening TATP with an alcoholic solution (aqueous methanol, ethanol, or iso‐propanol) followed by addition of 36 wt‐% hydrochloric acid. Preliminary experiments have shown the technique to be safe and effective for destruction of hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), as well.