Sequential Desorption of Nitroaromatic Compounds (NAC) from Soils
Abstract
Nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) are widely used energetic chemicals. Especially at many military facilities and former ammunition plants the contamination of soil and water with explosives and related NACs has been recognized as a serious environmental problem. Studies, performed on ranges in both the United States and Canada, have shown that there is a large degree of variability in NACs contamination type, concentration, and spatial distribution [11, 12, 15, 16]. 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is one of the most frequently occurring nitroaromatic contaminant in soils [10]. It is often accompanied by co-contaminants, such as dinitrotoluenes (2,4-DNT and 2,6-DNT), aminodinitrotoluenes (2A-4,6DNT and 4A-2,6DNT), and 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB), which result as byproducts of production or metabolites of microbial activity. In addition, Funk et al. [7] and Binks et al. [1] estimated that at least 28 sites in the United States and 200 areas in Germany, respectively, were contaminated with RDX. Until today, there are no available technologies that can effectively remediate the wide range of type and concentration of NACs found on former ammunition plants, and active training ranges [6]. Alkaline hydrolysis promises to be an effective treatment technology especially for remediation of highly contaminated soils, without any risk of explosive reactions. To obtain basic data for alkaline hydrolysis of NACs as a novel remediation technology for contaminated soils, the chemical kinetics of alkaline hydrolysis of TNT was determined under aqueous homogeneous conditions. The pH values were varied in the range of 10 to 12, and the respective reaction rates were calculated using a pseudo-first-order model. The experimental conditions and results are described in more detail elsewhere [3, 4].
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA456206
Entities
People
- Monika Emmrich
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center