Prediction of Amine-Based Liquid Rocket Propellant Shelf Life

The storage stability of amine based rocket fuel called Samine was studied over 9 months for the first time. It was found that storage stability significantly depends on fuel oxidation with the air trapped in the storage tanks. A reduction of the triethylamine concentration from 50.2 % (wt) to less than 48 % was taken as the end of shelf life of the propellant. After obtaining experimental data from accelerated storage stability tests, the shelf life of Samine was estimated using the Arrhenius equation. According to the kinetic studies, the oxidation reaction of fuel was a zero order reaction and the shelf lives of Samine in stainless-steel tanks at 20 °C, 25 °C, and 30 °C were obtained to be 5.7, 3.7, and 2.4 years, respectively. Additionally, it was observed that for long time storage of amine based fuels like Samine it is better to use stainless-steel or aluminum tanks, which are charged with an inert gas like nitrogen.