Field demonstration of soil slurry bioreactor technology for the remediation of explosives-contaminated soils

Conference · Wed Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:122484

Hampton, M L; Sisk, W E ^[1]

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1. Army Environmental Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (United States)

The past production and handling of conventional munitions has resulted in explosives contamination of the soils at various military facilities. The principal explosive contaminants are trinitrotoluene (TNT), cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), and cyclotetramethylenetetranitramine (HMX). Depending on the concentrations present, these explosives-contaminated soils pose both a reactivity and toxicity hazard and the potential for groundwater contamination. Bioremediation technologies are currently being developed by the U.S. Army Environmental Center as cost-effective alternatives to the current proven technology, high temperature incineration. A technology which is gaining popularity in the remediation industry is the use of soil slurry biodegradation systems in which an aqueous slurry is created by combining soils or sludge with water. Previous studies using soils contaminated with explosives from Joliet Army Ammunition Plant (JAAP) demonstrated the feasibility of this technology. A field demonstration to determine the feasibility of using Soil Slurry Sequencing Batch Reactors (SS-SBRs) to treat explosives-contaminated soils is being conducted at JAAP. Key factors to be investigated include the percent reduction of explosives and the identification of degradation products. In addition, the efficiency of reactor operations using different soil replacement volumes will be examined.

• OSTI ID: 122484
• Report Number(s): CONF-950679--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
BIODEGRADATION
CHEMICAL EXPLOSIVES
DATA
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
MARYLAND
MILITARY FACILITIES
REMEDIAL ACTION
SOILS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TNT