Impact case study database
- Submitting institution
- The University of Kent
- Unit of assessment
- 8 - Chemistry
- Summary impact type
- Cultural
- Is this case study continued from a case study submitted in 2014?
- No
1. Summary of the impact
The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard is one of the most celebrated heritage centres in the UK. Since the museum opened in 2013, scientists from the University of Kent and the Mary Rose Trust have used synchrotron-based approaches to annually monitor the ship’s hull during a critical drying period. This has enabled chemical changes in the ship to be measured in real time, thus ensuring its integrity and informing conservation strategies. In 2016, a pioneering strontium carbonate nanoparticle procedure was developed to mitigate imminent and long-term threats of acid degradation, and this has been used to successfully treat some of the artefacts now on display in the museum. Preservation of the Mary Rose and the thousands of artefacts has been central to the museum’s popularity, providing cultural, economic, and educational benefits. As a result, Kent’s research is also being used to inform cultural heritage conservation projects internationally.
2. Underpinning research
The Mary Rose was King Henry VIII’s flagship from 1512 until she sank in 1545. The ship remained relatively intact on the seabed, buried in silt, for nearly 400 years, before it was uncovered and raised in 1982. Following its removal from the sea, yellow salt precipitates started to appear on the ship’s timbers. A similar problem was encountered with the Vasa, King Adolphus of Sweden’s warship, which sank in 1628. The Vasa, whose oak beams were seemingly in excellent condition when first raised, dramatically deteriorated while housed in the Wasavarvet restoration facility ( Nature 415: 893-897 [2002]). The problem, now commonly referred to as ‘the sulfur problem’, occurs when sulfur compounds in the timbers, which originate from bacterial processes whilst underwater, are oxidised to sulfuric acid on exposure to air. This acid attacks the cellulose within the beams, resulting in dramatic deterioration of the wood. Work on the Vasa has shown that the oxidation is catalysed by iron, which is prevalent across the ship in the form of bolts and other structural components, compounding the problem and accelerating the deterioration.
Since 2008, Professor Chadwick’s team from the School of Physical Sciences at Kent has conducted research with the Mary Rose Trust to understand the oxidation processes occurring in the ship [R1, R2], to develop new chemical treatments that mitigate the ‘sulfur problem’ [R2, R3, R4, R5], and to monitor the state of the ship through the use of synchrotron radiation studies to ensure its integrity [R6].
**Research into the ‘sulfur problem’ and the preservation of the Mary Rose
Published in 2008, the Kent team’s research reported on the analysis of core samples taken from untreated timbers of the Mary Rose. Synchrotron-based sulfur and iron K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of the cores revealed that sulfur oxidation was more prevalent at the surface than in the depth of the timbers, and that the ‘sulfur problem’ was worse the nearer the samples were taken from a piece of metal in the wood, particularly iron [R1]. Between 2009 and 2011, the Kent team, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund [G1], investigated chemical treatments to solve the ‘sulfur problem’, including iron removal [R2] and nanoparticle de-acidification [R3], and continued to work with synchrotron beamlines to characterise treatment effectiveness [R2, R3].
When the Mary Rose was first raised, she was sprayed regularly with water to stop the hull from drying out and prevent microbial activity. In 1992, the conservation team stopped spraying with water and started spraying the ship with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to displace the water in the cellular structure of the wood to prevent shrinkage and collapse. In 2013, the wood had become saturated with PEG and the process of drying the ship began. At this point, the Kent team and the Mary Rose Trust set up a programme of work with Diamond Light Source (the UK’s national synchrotron facility) to take samples annually from the ship for analysis to monitor any changes in real time [G2].
Monitoring experiments carried out between 2013 and 2018 analysed 14 well-defined cores of the ship’s hull, chosen as being representative of major areas of the Mary Rose’s timber. Samples were initially collected during the PEG treatment and again in real time during the drying period, enabling the analysis of both drying time and depth into the wood. The cores were subjected to sulfur and iron K-edge XAS, using the synchrotron at the national facility and results were analysed by comparing the spectra with well-defined standards. During the initial phase of the study, it was shown that significant amounts of oxidised sulfur were appearing on surfaces where previously not observed. In 2016, a procedure to mitigate this oxidation using strontium carbonate nanoparticles was introduced by the Kent team [R4]. Importantly, this study showed that PEG does not prevent the reactivity of the nanoparticles with the sulfur compounds present in the artefacts, and a surface brushing method was found to be successful in removing the oxidised sulfur [R4]. Initial monitoring results also indicated that oxidised sulfur was progressing into the depth of the timber core, and oxidised zinc was found in coexistence with oxidised sulfur and iron in highly degraded regions [R6]. Reduced sulfur based species, such as sulfur, cystine, and methionine, and iron compounds were found to be present within the timber core at all times.
The monitoring project has shown that the level of oxidised sulfur building within the ship has levelled out and stabilised, and is not an immediate threat to the ship’s integrity, indicating that the conservation methods being applied are working successfully. A report on core samples taken from six locations across the hull during the PEG treatment and again five months into the drying phase, has been published [R6]. Future publications are in the pipeline and a short film describing the project has been produced by KMTV. The Kent team continues to evaluate the effectiveness of PEG in the conservation of the Mary Rose [R5].
3. References to the research
[R1] Wetherall, K. M., Moss, R. M., Jones, A. M., Smith, A. D., Skinner, T., Pickup, D. M., Goatham, S. W., Chadwick, A. V., and Newport, R. J. ( 2008). ‘Sulfur and iron speciation in recently recovered timbers of the Mary Rose revealed via X-ray absorption spectroscopy’. Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 1317-1328. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2007.09.007
[R2] Berko, A., Smith, A. D., Jones, A. M., Schofield, E. J., Mosselmans, J. F. W., and Chadwick, A. V. ( 2009). ‘XAS studies of the effectiveness of iron chelating treatments of Mary Rose timbers’. Journal of Physics Conference Series: 14th International Conference on X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFSI 4) 190: 012147. http://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/190/1/012147
[R3] Schofield, E. J., Sarangi, R., Mehta, A., Jones, A. M., Mosselmans, J. F. W., and Chadwick, A. V. ( 2011). ‘Nanoparticle de-acidification of the Mary Rose’. Materials Today 14: 354-358.
[R4] Schofield, E. J., Sarangi, R., Mehta, A., Jones, A. M., Smith, A., Mosselmans, J. F. W., and Chadwick, A. V. ( 2016). ‘Strontium carbonate nanoparticles for the surface treatment of problematic sulfur and iron in waterlogged archaeological wood’. Journal of Cultural Heritage 18: 306-312. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2015.07.013
[R5] Chadwick, A. V., Berko, A., Schofield, E. J., Smith, A. D., Mosselmans, J. F., Jones, A. M., and Cibin, G. ( 2016). ‘The application of X-ray absorption spectroscopy in archaeological conservation: Example of an artefact from Henry VIII warship the Mary Rose’. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 451: 49-55. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2016.05.020
[R6] Aluri, E. R., Reynaud, C., Bardas, H., Piva, E., Cibin, G., Mosselmans, J. F. W., Chadwick, A. V., and Schofield, E. J. ( 2020). ‘The Formation of Chemical Degraders during the Conservation of a Wooden Tudor Shipwreck’. ChemPlusChem 85: 1632-1638.
Grants
[G1] Chadwick, A. V., and Newport, R. J. ( 2008-11). ‘An investigation of remediation methods for the sulphur problem in Mary Rose timbers’. Heritage Lottery Fund grant administered by the Mary Rose Trust.
[G2] Chadwick, A. V. ( 2013-18). ‘Monitoring Iron and Sulfur Speciation in Mary Rose Timbers in the Museum Environment’. Diamond Light Source grant (SP10104): 2 days of beamtime every 6 months.
4. Details of the impact
Pioneering conservation technology to preserve underwater cultural heritage
- Measuring chemical changes in the Mary Rose in real time
Chadwick has a longstanding relationship with the Mary Rose Trust, and has been exploring technologies to preserve the ship and her artefacts since 2008. His pioneering research, undertaken by Kent with the Mary Rose Trust and Diamond Light Source between 2013 and 2018, enabled chemical changes in the ship to be measured in ‘real time’ for the first time [a, b]. At the outset of the study, the Kent team, the Mary Rose Trust, and Diamond Light Source had to design a robust chamber to collect XAS spectra for soft elements like sulfur. This was built at the Diamond Light Source, and thanks to its success is now being used as standard equipment on the beamline used in the project (B18). Principal Beamline Scientists at Diamond Light Source, Professors Giannantonio Cibin and Fred Mosselmans, confirm that ‘The problem posed by the complexity and the nature of the [ Mary Rose] material itself has helped us to provide new techniques, to be able to push […] our technology’, and that the use of the new techniques ‘has enabled the conservation tactics used on the Mary Rose to develop’ [b].
Under the research guidance of the Kent team, the oxidation processes within the Mary Rose timbers are now much better understood, particularly in the museum environment. These monitoring and evaluation experiments have informed conservation practice, including decisions made about the upgrade to the air-conditioning system in 2016, which has provided a stable environment for the Mary Rose and all of its artefacts. Although further similar experiments and monitoring will be required in the future, the work has provided a platform for many years of conservation. Professor Eleanor Schofield, Head of Conservation and Collections Care at the Mary Rose Trust and an Honorary Professor at Kent, highlights the importance of the monitoring project to the preservation of the Mary Rose, stating it ‘has confirmed during the final stages of drying the ship, that our conservation methods are working and has given us confidence that the environment surrounding the ship is correct’ [a].
- Eliminating acid degradation in wood and other materials
Discoveries made during the monitoring research enabled the Kent team to develop a pioneering strontium carbonate nanoparticle treatment to eliminate imminent and long-term threats of acid degradation [b]. This treatment has already been used on artefacts now on display. Schofield confirms that ‘Work completed at Kent, developing nanoparticle treatments for the conservation issues of marine archaeological wood, has been implemented in the museum. Specifically, artefacts set to go on display in the new museum in 2013 were treated to combat conservation issues, which left unresolved would have resulted in the items being unable to go on display. These included things like gun carriages, which are critical for the curational narrative of the museum’ [a]. Having proved the chemistry, ways to apply the nanoparticles to the bulk of the ship are now being investigated [b]. Schofield confirms that ‘Kent research and our collaboration with the Kent team has also facilitated the beginning of a pilot project at the Mary Rose Trust for conservators to investigate different application methods’ [a].
Kent’s researchers, the Mary Rose Trust team, and Diamond Light Source are continuing to develop techniques to treat the artefacts, including the ship’s bricks [b]. Schofield explains that ‘The issues that we see with the salts in the wood we are starting to see in other materials and one of those is the bricks’ [b]. The Kent team is currently working with the Mary Rose Trust team to understand what impurity phases are resulting in the degradation of the ship’s bricks [a, b]. ‘It is expected that this understanding can then be exploited to develop preservation techniques.’ [a]
- International impacts on cultural heritage conservation
Kent’s research on nanoparticle de-acidification of waterlogged wood and the real-time monitoring of chemical degradation in the Mary Rose has also assisted other conservation projects around the world, including the preservation of wooden artefacts from the Norwegian Viking ship Oseberg [c] and timbers from the Princess Carolina, an eighteenth-century wooden merchant vessel excavated in the 1980s in Manhattan [d]. Dr Susan Braovac, Conservator on the Saving Oseberg Project (Norway), confirms that ‘Research on archaeological materials is a relatively small field. Only a handful of institutions have research positions specializing in these materials’, and she highlights that ‘Research on the Mary Rose contributes to the knowledge-building that helps preservation specialists make the right decisions’ [c] .
Kent’s research is helping to improve understanding of the Oseberg’s wooden artefacts treated with alum salts. Braovac explains that even though the groups are working with different types of archaeological woods, they are dealing with similar types of chemical degradation (sulfates and iron) and confirms that the Kent team’s work ‘on deacidification of wood using nanoparticles (strontium carbonate) has inspired [her] own research on nanoparticle application to deacidify wood, albeit, a different type (calcium hydroxide)’ [c]. Braovac also highlights the impact of Kent’s real-time monitoring project and its findings: ‘The publication on chemical degraders in the Mary Rose is […] relevant for my own understanding of the chemistry of alum-treated wood. We have […] observed similar elements [described in the Kent paper] (zinc) present in the wood. I had not previously read about zinc in archaeological wood outside of my own work’ [c].
Elsa Sangouard, Senior Conservator at the Mariners’ Museum (USA), describes the Kent’s team’s research on the application of nanoparticles to archaeological wood as ‘critical work that has led the way in improving, diversifying, and strengthening the conservation of such cultural heritage for present and future generations. Today, this research is providing a foundation for the work we, and other conservation laboratories around the world, are conducting.’ A preservation project at the Mariners’ Museum has carried out tests on previously treated acidified waterlogged wood from the Princess Carolina, using an approach similar to that reported by the Kent team. Sangouard states that ‘Initial test trials have begun […]. If they are conclusive, we may apply nano-calcium carbonate particles, one of the products investigated by Schofield et al., on a large-scale to the re-treatment of timbers from the Princess Carolina’ [d].
Overall, the Kent team’s research into the preservation of the Mary Rose and her artefacts since 2008 has had a significant impact on cultural heritage research and has been widely cited by the conservation community. The Mary Rose website [f] provides a list of published papers from research projects that have focused on the ship and her artefacts, including the six articles cited here [R1-R6] that describe key work carried out by the Kent team. Other projects that have cited the work of the Kent team in their research publications include the conservation of sculptures and decorative artefacts from the Vasa, Norwegian Viking age wooden objects (from the Oseberg), a Bronze Age logboat (the Hanson) from Derby, a Gallo-Roman wreck (the Lyon Saint-Georges 4) in France, Baroque retables and altarpieces from Portugal, and a Polish medieval bridge and other artefacts [e].
Cultural, Economic, and Educational Benefits
Housed in its own purpose built museum, the restored Mary Rose is the central attraction in Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard, one of the most important and visited heritage sites in the UK. The museum employs 11 front-of-house staff directly involved with the upkeep and operations of the museum as well as two academic researchers and two conservators [a]. Schofield, Head of Conservation and Collections Care at the Mary Rose Trust, explains that ‘The concept of the museum is to provide an immersive experience for the visitors showing them, through the objects, day-to-day life on board the Mary Rose’, and confirms that ‘Having the artefacts with the ship enables us to display everything in context which allows us to tell the story of the people that worked on board more effectively’ [a]. The Trust has an extensive website describing the extraordinary history of the ship, including large sections on the conservation process and research projects, which reference the Kent team’s research [f]. The website also states that there are now 19,000 artefacts in the collection, with 5,000 of the preserved items now being on display in the museum [f].
Preserving and presenting the thousands of artefacts in a pristine condition has been central to the museum’s popularity [b]. This is acknowledged by Jane Singh, Visit Portsmouth Tourism and Marketing Manager at Portsmouth City Council, who states: ‘The conservation of the Mary Rose and the role played by the University of Kent in this work has been essential in ensuring the ship and related artefacts can be successfully conserved and remain on view in the museum. […] As the only ship of her kind on display in the world, along with the thousands of original objects found with her, the Mary Rose offers a unique insight into Tudor England’ [g]. Josephine Payter-Harris, Guest Experience Manager at the Mary Rose Trust, also highlights the impact that Kent’s research has had on the museum experience: ‘Without all of the conservation work these artefacts wouldn’t be here on display and it’s something that people find absolutely fascinating that these are real artefacts […] that were under the water for all that time’ [b].
There is a growing focus at the museum on highlighting the various processes involved in the conservation, with a view to including more of this information in outreach projects [b, f]. Singh, from Portsmouth City Council, confirms that ‘The Mary Rose also has a huge part to play in the cultural offer for both local residents and visitors and offers, in more usual times, a range of events and educational activities that complement the museum visit’ [g]. Schofield states that between 2014 and 2019 the museum received on average 300 school visits and over 255,000 individual visitors annually (the museum was temporarily closed in 2020 in line with government COVID-19 regulations) [a]. Portsmouth City Council highlights the economic importance of the Mary Rose to Portsmouth, where it is regarded as its top attraction and a key driver for visitors, and the role it plays in generating income from tourism in excess of £610 million, supporting around 12,700 jobs (Portsmouth, Economic Impact of Tourism estimates, 2015, Tourism South East) [g].
5. Sources to corroborate the impact
[a] Testimonial: Head of Conservation and Collections Care, the Mary Rose Trust (UK).
[b] KMTV short film: Mary Rose: A Chemical Conundrum.
[c] Testimonial: Conservator, Saving Oseberg, Museum of Cultural History (Norway).
[d] Testimonial: Senior Conservator, the Mariners’ Museum and Park (USA).
[e] Report detailing research publications from other conservation projects that cite Kent research.
[f] Mary Rose Trust website, with referenes to the Kent team’s research.
[g] Testimonial: Visit Portsmouth Tourism and Marketing Manager, Portsmouth City Council (UK).
- Submitting institution
- The University of Kent
- Unit of assessment
- 8 - Chemistry
- Summary impact type
- Technological
- Is this case study continued from a case study submitted in 2014?
- No
1. Summary of the impact
The safe decontamination of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) is a major challenge for defence agencies in the UK. Most are destructible by hydrolysis in a laboratory, but the prior requirement of their storage and transport is extremely hazardous. Researchers in Chemistry at Kent have designed and synthesised a new composite material that can absorb and degrade up to 54 times its own weight of a range of CWAs. The simple absorbent material (100kg) has been manufactured at Kent and stockpiled by the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) as an interim security measure whilst an industrial tender has gone out to manufacture the composite on a larger scale. This gives the Ministry of Defence a material that immobilises CWA stockpiles and degrades them on site. By acting as an advising consultant, Dr Holder contributed to DSTL’s decision-making strategies and thinking, which underpinned and helped facilitate the development and manufacture of the product.
2. Underpinning research
Chemical warfare agents (CWAs) have been illegal, according to the Chemical Weapons Convention (1997), for the past forty years. Nevertheless, CWAs have been used in Iraq (1988), Japan (1995), Syria (2013), Malaysia (2017), and the UK (2018) throughout this period. For this reason, the UK has been, and continues to be, involved in the transport and destruction of CWAs, including the destruction of 1,000 metric tons of CWAs and precursors during the Syrian Civil War in 2013. Most CWAs, typically in liquid form, are destructible by hydrolysis in a laboratory, but the prior requirement of their storage and transport is extremely hazardous; they are lethal in mg doses, any spillage can easily result in fatalities. The ideal solution to this problem would be a material that simultaneously immobilises a CWA whilst degrading it on site, minimising contact with civilian and military personnel.
In March 2013, the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) issued a call for research proposals to develop new polymers that could absorb and degrade chemical warfare agents – Reactive Super Polymeric Absorbents (rSPAs). In particular, the DSTL was seeking a practical material to be developed and sourced in the UK that could treat liquid nerve agents both in the laboratory and in the field on scales from millilitres to litres, thereby making transport safer and potential subsequent use more difficult. Since 2012, Holder and his research group at Kent had been working to develop incorporate absorbent polymer materials in radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor systems (in collaboration with the School of Engineering at Kent). This led to a growing interest and expertise in the absorbent properties of polymers within the group [R1, R2]. In recognition of their existing combined knowledge of absorbent polymers and contemporary catalysts, Holder and Blight were awarded joint research grants from DSTL to investigate the feasibility of developing such materials.
Between 2014 and 2018, a Kent research team comprised of Holder, Blight, and two DSTL-funded PhD students studied the initial synthesis of absorbent polymer systems. The team conducted extensive absorption studies on the use of polystyrene-based networks containing ionic groups with a range of organic solvents. These studies demonstrated that this traditional design for superabsorbent polymers would not work for CWAs. In July 2016, Holder attended a conference where a talk on pHIPEs led to the realisation that such materials, utilising porous polymers that showed high compatibility with the CWAs, would function as good absorbents. In 2016-18, the team conducted investigations of various pHIPE systems with different compositions, cross-linking densities and porosity [R3]. The investigations led to the development of a material that was mechanically stable, compressible, and super-absorbent, absorbing and immobilising up to 54 times its own weight of CWAs [R3]. Between 2018 and 2020, the team (including a DSTL-funded PDRA) demonstrated that the material could be synthesised on the kilogram scale (previously it was synthesised on the gram scale) and then 10s of kg scales [f]. Between 2015 and 2018, the team also trialled a number of known metal-organic framework (MOF) compounds for their catalytic degradation of CWA simulants [R4]. These MOFs were further tested at DSTL against actual CWAs, and a candidate was identified that was then directly incorporated into the pHIPE successfully at Kent, leading to the pHIPE-MOF. In 2018, the Kent-produced pHIPE-MOF composite was tested against a CWA by staff at DSTL, and it showed a high level of absorption and degradation of the CWA within seven days, with no need for the addition of any other reagents (including water) [R5].
3. References to the research
[R1] Rumens, C. V., Ziai, Mohamed A., Belsey, K., Batchelor, John C., and Holder, Simon J. ( 2015). ‘Swelling of PDMS Networks in Solvent Vapours; Applications for Passive RFID Wireless Sensors.’ Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 3: 10091-10098.
[R2] Belsey, K. E., Parry, A. V. S., Rumens, C. V., Ziai, M. A., Yeates, S. G., Batchelor, John C., and Holder, Simon J. ( 2017). ‘Switchable disposable passive RFID vapour sensors from inkjet printed electronic components integrated with PDMS as a stimulus responsive material’. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 5(12): 3167-3175. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6TC05509E
**[R3] ** Wright, Alexander J., Main, Marcus J., Cooper, Nicholas J., Blight, Barry A., and Holder, Simon J. ( 2017). ‘Poly High Internal Phase Emulsion for the Immobilization of Chemical Warfare Agents’. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 9(37): 31335-31339.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b09188
[R4] Kalinovskyy, Y., Cooper, N. J., Main, M. J., Holder, Simon J., and Blight, B. A. ( 2017). ‘Microwave-assisted activation and modulator removal in zirconium MOFs for buffer-free CWA hydrolysis’. Dalton Transactions 45: 15704-15709. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7DT03616G
[R5] Kalinovskyy, Y., Wright, A. J., Hiscock, J. R., Watts, T. D., Williams, R. L., Cooper, N. J., Main, M. J., Holder, S. J., and Blight, B. A. ( 2020). ‘Swell and Destroy: A Metal–Organic Framework-Containing Polymer Sponge That Immobilizes and Catalytically Degrades Nerve Agents’. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 12: 8634-8641.
Grants
[G1] Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) grants ( 2014-20). The research project led by Holder was funded by three DSTL grants. Total value: £558,947.
4. Details of the impact
Following the successful development of the absorption and degradation capabilities of the pHIPE-MOF at DSTL, in January 2019 DSTL ordered 150kg of the pHIPE-MOF from the University of Kent to be used in an interim capability by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). In 2019-20, a large-scale manufacturing process based on the research by the University of Kent team [R3-R6] was initiated. In June 2020, Project Earthlight commenced to secure the manufacture and supply of pHIPE-MOF to the MoD. In summarising the benefits of the Kent research and input (further detailed below), Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), a stakeholder of DSTL closely involved with the project, stated that the ‘knowledge transfer process between the University of Kent, DSTL and DE&S and its resulting conception of Project Earthlight has fostered the generation of new knowledge, practices and strategy within the DSTL for the UK’s defence against chemical warfare agents’, and highlighted that the research has ‘facilitated an improved provision of materials to absorb nerve agents’ [g].
Enhancing the knowledge and defence strategies of the DSTL
In response to the successful demonstration of the absorption and degradation capabilities of the pHIPE-MOF at DSTL in 2018, DSTL confirmed that the research undertaken at Kent by Holder’s team had changed their knowledge. Specifically, they highlighted that the advance of the pHIPE-MOF reflected ‘the first time that a material capable of both absorbing and breaking down these materials has been developed’ [a]. As DSTL stated, the dual function of the pHIPE-MOF (absorption and immobilisation) ‘reduces the need to use substantial quantities of corrosive chemicals for the decontamination of nerve agents’, and is ‘itself inexpensive and straightforward to produce’ [a]. DSTL also confirmed that ‘By detoxifying chemical warfare agents, the pHIPE-MOF system enhances health and safety protocols’; adding that ‘Logistically, it is beneficial to take one material which can be effective against a range of hazardous chemicals’ and to have ‘the ability to add the pHIPE-MOF combination in the field and walk away with the knowledge that the toxic component will be broken down in a known timeframe’ [a].
In response to the material’s successful development, as well as cost savings and safety benefits, DSTL ‘decided to accept this formulation and develop it on a large scale’ [a]. In order to determine the feasibility and cost of larger-scale syntheses and give the Ministry of Defence an interim Defence and Security capability, in January 2019 DSTL ordered 150kg of the pHIPE from the University of Kent [b, g]. Roughly speaking, as 3.9kg of the composite can absorb and immobilise the contents of a standard chemical drum/barrel (208 L, 55 gal) of a nerve agent, 150kg has the potential to absorb 38 barrels (8000 L). By December 2020, DSTL received 100kg of the material ‘for the provision of an interim capability, which can absorb chemical warfare agents’ [a].
Informing the practice and capabilities of DSTL
In 2019-20, DSTL continued to explore the possibility of large-scale manufacture of the pHIPE-MOF in conjunction with the delivery of 100kg of the pHIPE from the University of Kent. As the Specialist Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search (EOD&S), Exploitation and Countermeasures Project Manager at DE&S highlighted: ‘alongside the production and receipt of the 100kg of material throughout 2019, Dr Holder acted as an advising consultant. Dr Holder provided DSTL and DE&S with additional informative material to inform us and our stakeholders with an understanding of the material, acted as an independent expert as we worked through and established the production methods and processes, and advised on potential companies to manufacture the pHIPE-MOF’ [c, g]. In recognition of the opportunities that Holder’s expertise afforded during this process, DE&S stated that: ‘The application of his expertise and advice on key matters contributed to our thinking, and, as a result, informed and enhanced our decision-making processes and strategies as we sought to prepare for tender’ [g].
Contributing to the manufacture and supply of pHIPE-MOF to the MoD
In June 2020, DSTL acted to secure the manufacture and supply of the pHIPE-MOF system to the MOD by issuing a Prior Information Notice for Contracts in the field of Defence and Security for Project Earthlight [d, g]. The inception and notice of Project Earthlight highlighted the technology’s readiness level for production and packaging, and set out the procurement processes, which began in September 2020 [d, g]. Acknowledging Holder’s influence throughout this process, DSTL stated that: ‘The production method for the MOF and pHIPE developed at Kent will be used as a basis for production on a large scale. The specifications outlined in the tender document such as absorbency (Q-value), timescale, testing protocols, and analysis of final MOF-pHIPE system are all based on the initial work carried out at Kent’ [a]. In November 2020, two companies were invited to submit tenders for the production of the MOF-pHIPE material for the MoD [f, g].
5. Sources to corroborate the impact
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) Questionnaire: Principal Scientist. This details the impact of the Kent research team on DSTL’s prior processes, knowledge and understanding, practice, and future procedures and strategy (April 2020).
Ministry of Defence Initial Tasking Order Form (2019). This details the requirements for the supply of 150kg of polyHIPE from the University of Kent.
Tender process correspondence: Project Managers, Ministry of Defence and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. This correspondence established the contributions made by Holder in facilitating the scale-up manufacturing process and supplying knowledge and assistance in developing the tender process.
Ministry of Defence Prior Information (Contract) Notice. This sets out the contracting authority's (Ministry of Defence) purchasing intentions.
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Report. This is a DSTL report on the scale-up production produced by Holder and Dr Aaron Hillier for DSTL to demonstrate the feasibility of the scale-up process and to inform and guide the tender process for subsequent manufacturing.
Invitation to Tender correspondence: Project Manager, Ministry of Defence. This details the companies approached to submit tenders for the manufacture of the polyHIPE-MOF.
Testimonial: Specialist, Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search (EOD&S), Exploitation and Countermeasures Project Manager, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S). This details how the partnerships between Holder, DE&S, and DSTL resulted in the conception of Project Earthlight; informed new knowledge, practice, and strategy; and facilitated an improved provision of materials to absorb nerve agents.