Recovery of Ammonium Perchlorate from Obsolete Ammunition and Its Application in Synthesis of Lithium Perchlorate

Ammonium perchlorate (AP) is used as a strong solid oxidizer in propellants, gun powder, fireworks, and light signals. Recycling or recovery of AP from demilitarization or outdated propellant items is a challenging task. Herein, we report the purchase of recycled crude AP from commercially, and then subsequently AP was purified through filtration with activated carbon and recrystallization. After recrystallization, the yield of AP was 85 %, and the resultant product was characterized by various techniques including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. These results indicate that recrystallized AP had excellent purity and crystallinity compared to crude AP. In addition, purified AP was used as source material for the synthesis of lithium perchlorate (LP), which was characterized using various analytical techniques. This process provides a new avenue for recycled AP that could be effectively used as starting material for synthesis of LP.