Bioremediation of nitrated organics
- Enviro-Energy Systems Inc., Reston, VA (United States)
- Univ. of Exeter (United Kingdom). Dept. of Biological Sciences
In the manufacture of nitrated aromatic and heterocyclic compounds intermediates are produced as well as the final products, e.g. TNT (trinitrotoluene), and RDX (cyclotri-methylene trinitramine). The red water produced is a dilute effluent containing TNT and other nitrated intermediates. Many of the intermediates are also to be found in contaminated land areas as well as the primary manufacturing products as contaminants in ground adjacent to production and storage areas. Two intermediates included as by-products are p-nitrophenol and resorcinol; both are hydroxylated aromatics and one (the former) is also nitrated. If these rings can be hydroxylated and oxidized by pure or mixed microbial cultures then the notion of using microbes for the detoxification of a wide range of nitrated aromatics and heterocyclics is possible. It is proposed in the study to accelerate this degradative process in the first instance for p-nitrophenol and resorcinol, and secondly for TNT and RDX. The use of microbes to degrade nitroaromatic compounds such as nitrobenzenes, and mono-nitro phenols, have been described. In order to determine how aromatic degrading bacteria can also degrade substituted and nitrated aromatics several pure and mixed cultures have been utilized to demonstrate enzyme adaptation.
- OSTI ID:
- 124560
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940499--; ISBN 1-56590-014-6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Anaerobic transformation of TNT
Initial-phase optimization for bioremediation of munition compound-contaminated soils