Destruction chemistry of organophosphorus compounds in hydrogen-oxygen flames

A review of the results of experimental studies of the destruction chemistry of organophosphorus compounds modeling sarin in hydrogen-oxygen rarefied flames is presented. These studies were performed at the Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences by soft ionization probe molecular beam mass spectrometry. A method is described that allows one to identify almost all starting, intermediate (including atoms and free radicals), and final organophosphorus compounds and to measure concentration profiles in flames. The destruction products of organophosphorus compounds – dimethyl methylphosphonate and trimethylphosphate – are identified in various zones of an H$_2$/O$_2$/Ar flame. Mass peak intensities proportional to the concentrations of the indicated products are measured. The inhibition and promotion phenomena of the flames are discovered and studied. A chemical mechanism for the destruction of organophosphorus compounds in the flames is proposed. The results obtained are important for understanding the processes involved in the incineration of chemical warfare agents and munitions and other toxic and hazardous substances, for optimization of this technology, and also for understanding the inhibition and promotion mechanisms of flames.