Bioremediation Of Explosives In Contaminated Soil
TNT is not the kind of substance that most people think of composting, but it can be done! At several U.S. Army depots, the water used in processing explosives was disposed of through evaporation from unlined lagoons. This has resulted in sediments and soils that are contaminated with TNT (2,4,6- trinitrotoluene) and its derivatives RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) and HMX (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazocine). One way of cleaning up these sediments is by incinerating them. A less expensive and more environmentally friendly method is "bioremediation," or use of natural biological and chemical processes to degrade the contaminants. That's where composting comes ...
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to save 2.6 million dollars compared with incinerating the contaminated soils. In addition to saving money, composting will also avoid the need for burning fossil fuels and will produce an end product usable for backfilling, landscaping, or erosion control.
Introduction
Whether people know it or not explosives, such as tnt, are a very important part of their lives. Since World War I, munitions have been manufactured in the United States using a variety of energetic materials, including propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnic (PEP) materials. (Noyes, 1996) Many manufacturing sites contain explosives. As a result they have contaminated soil because of prior and existing operations. These contaminated soils are can be very toxic and mutagenic. It is estimated that the U.S. Army has 40 sites requiring cleanup of explosives-contaminated soils.(Noyes, 1996) Currently, regulatory agencies only approve incineration and composting as decontamination technologies. Incineration was ...
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remedy for explosives in contaminated soils. Bioremediation boosts the activity of naturally occurring microorganisms to degrade hazardous substances in soil or sediment into nontoxic materials.
Composting uses naturally occurring microorganisms to degrade organic wastes. This process is similar to that used for household yard waste. Increased temperatures from heat produced by microorganisms speed their metabolism and degradation of the organic materials in the waste. (Smith, 1999)
Because of the modest equipment and monitoring requirements, windrow composting is a cost-effective technology, with a high degree of treatment effectiveness for explosives-contaminated soils at a low ...
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"Bioremediation Of Explosives In Contaminated Soil." Essayworld.com. December 7, 2006. Accessed April 16, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Bioremediation-Of-Explosives-In-Contaminated-Soil/56700.
"Bioremediation Of Explosives In Contaminated Soil." Essayworld.com. December 7, 2006. Accessed April 16, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Bioremediation-Of-Explosives-In-Contaminated-Soil/56700.
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