May 3, 2012  20  US 2012/0108878 Al  TABLE 6 C.2  TABLE6D  TABLE 7  [0189]  In order to solubilize and decontaminate chemical  and biological agents, hydrogen bonds in the solution must be  broken. At first glance then, it might appear desirable to  prepare the decontamination solution using organic solvents  having weaker hydrogen bonds. Of the four isomers of  butanediol, however, it is one of the novel discoveries of the  present invention that the oxygens of 1,3-butanediol have  higher  pKa  values compared to the other butanediol isomers,  enabling the use of this isomer with a different buffer system,  and hence a different type of chemical activation in creating a  decontaminant formulation. This discovery has proven  important to developing the preferred decontamination solu› tion and formulation.  [0190]  The present invention is intended for use in com› merce, which means it must be safe to transport on commer- Examples of Group II/Group III Polar Hybrid Solvents and Their Physical Properties  B.P  Dielectric  Flash  Density  Solvent  Chemical Formula  M.Pt.  Constant  Point  g/ml  3-Methoxy- CH 3 CH(OCH 3 )CH 2 CH 2 OH  161° C.  NA  46° C.  0.922  1-Butanol  -85°  C.  2-Butoxy- C6H14O2  171° C.  9.3  67° C.  0.90  Ethanol  -70°  C.  2-Butoxy- C4H9O(CH2)2OCOCH3  192° C.  NA  71.1° C.  0.94  Ethanol Acetate  -63.3°  C.  Ethyl Acetate  CH3-----C(=O)---O-----CH2-----CH3  77° C.  6.02  -4°  C.  0.894  -83.6°  C.  Diacetone  CH 3 C(=O)CH 2 C(OH)(CH 3 )o  166° C.  NA  58.8° C.  0.938  Alcohol  -47°  C.  Examples of Group  N  Polar Polyprotic Solvents and Their Physical Properties  Dielectric  Flash  B.P  Constant  Point  Solvent  M.Pt.  @20°  C.  closed cup  Ethylene Glycol  37-41.2° C.  11.9  110° C.  -13°  C.  1,2-Propanediol (Propylene Glycol)  188.2° C.  32.0  107° C.  -59°  C.  1,3-Propanediol  210° C.  29  79° C.  -28°  C.  2,2-Dimethyl 1,3-Propanediol  NA  31  103° C.  126° C.  2,3-Butanediol  184° C.  4  85° C.  25° C.  1,3-Butanediol  207.5° C.  28.8  108.9° C.  <-50°  C.  1,4-Butane dial  230° C.  31.9  134° C.  16° C.  1,3-Pentanediol  232° C.  16  113° C.  52-56° C.  1,5-Pentanediol  242° C.  26.2  136° C.  NA  1,2-Pentanediol  206° C.  17  105° C.  NA  Hexylene Glycol  197° C.  23.4  90° C.  -40°  C.  1,2,6-Hexanetriol  178° C.  31.5  79° C.  NA  Ethenol (PVA)  228° C.  NA  79.44° C.  230° C.  2-(Hydroxyethoxy)  245° C.  6-10  123° C.  ethan-2-ol  -10°  C.  (Diethylene Glycol)  2-(2-Hydroxyethoxy)  127° C.  5-10  166° C.  ethan-2-ol  _70 C.  (Triethylene Glycol)  Density  g/ml  @20°  C.  1.113  1.036  1.053  NA  0.995  1.005  1.017  0.98  0.99  0.971  0.92  1.109  1.19-1.31  1.118  1.124  Boiling Points and Flash Points ofButanediol Isomers  Isomer  1,4-butanediol  1,3-butanediol  1,2-butanediol  2,3-butanediol  Chemical Structure  HO(CH 2 ) 4 OH  CH 3 CH(OH)CH 2 CH,OH  CH 3 CH 2 CH(OH)CH 2 OH  CH 3 CH(OH)CH(OH)CH 3  Boiling point  Flash Point  230°  C.  134°  C.  203°  C.  121 °  C.  191 °  C.  93°  C.  183°  C.  85°  C. 