Treatment of RDX and/or HMX Using Mulch Biowalls
Abstract
Organic mulch is a complex carbon material that is typically populated with its own consortium of microorganisms. The organisms in mulch breakdown complex insoluble organics to soluble carbon, which can then be utilized by these and other microorganisms as an electron donor for treating contaminants via reductive pathways. Mulch has advantages over other electron donors: it is cheaply available, long-lasting, and is naturally present in the environment. Over the last decade, organic mulch permeable reactive barriers (PRB) or biowalls, have enjoyed increased public interest as a relatively cheap technology for addressing contaminated groundwater. The mulch PRB is a passive technology and consequently requires no aboveground injection system, thereby greatly reducing operating and maintenance costs. To date, biowalls have been installed to bioremediate groundwater contaminated with a variety of electrophilic compounds, including chlorinated solvents and inorganics such as nitrate and perchlorate. This field demonstration represents the first ever application of mulch PRBs for the treatment of explosives contamination in groundwater. Heterocyclic nitramines, such as hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and octahydro- 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX), are energetic materials that commonly make up the bulk of modern explosive formulations. Because of their poor soil sorption properties and their relatively high solubilities compared to other energetic materials, these compounds have been found to contaminate groundwater at military facilities where explosive materials are manufactured, packaged, or handled. Although there is little data to establish their human toxicity at low concentrations, these compounds are generally regarded as possible human carcinogens due to their ability to cause adverse effects in a variety of different organisms, including hepatic tumors in mice. Hence, there is a need to implement remediation technologies to treat RDX an
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA499382
Entities
People
- Charles J. Newell
- David T Adamson
- Farrukh Ahmad
Organizations
- Environmental Security Technology Certification Program