HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Related articles in JEQ Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (7) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Comfort, S. D. Articles by Satapanajaru, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Comfort, S. D. Articles by Satapanajaru, T. GeoRef GeoRef Citation Agricola Articles by Comfort, S. D. Articles by Satapanajaru, T. Related Collections Other Waste Management Remediation Organic Compounds Soil Pollution

TECHNICAL REPORTS

Organic Compounds in the Environment

Pilot-Scale Treatment of RDX-Contaminated Soil with Zerovalent Iron

^a School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 362 Plant Sciences, Lincoln, NE 68583-0915
^b Department of Environmental Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand 10900

^* Corresponding author (pshea{at}unl.edu).

Received for publication July 12, 2002. Soils in Technical Area 16 at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are severely contaminated from past explosives testing and research. Our objective was to conduct laboratory and pilot-scale experiments to determine if zerovalent iron (Fe⁰) could effectively transform RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) in two LANL soils that differed in physicochemical properties (Soils A and B). Laboratory tests indicated that Soil A was highly alkaline and needed to be acidified [with H₂SO₄, Al₂(SO₄)₃, or CH₃COOH] before Fe⁰ could transform RDX. Pilot-scale experiments were performed by mixing Fe⁰ and contaminated soil (70 kg), and acidifying amendments with a high-speed mixer that was a one-sixth replica of a field-scale unit. Soils were kept unsaturated (soil water content = 0.30–0.34 kg kg^-1) and sampled with time (0–120 d). While adding CH₃COOH improved the effectiveness of Fe⁰ to remove RDX in Soil A (98% destruction), CH₃COOH had a negative effect in Soil B. We believe that this difference is a result of high concentrations of organic matter and Ba. Adding CH₃COOH to Soil B lowered pH and facilitated Ba release from BaSO₄ or BaCO₃, which decreased Fe⁰ performance by promoting flocculation of humic material on the iron. Despite problems encountered with CH₃COOH, pilot-scale treatment of Soil B (12100 mg RDX kg^-1) with Fe⁰ or Fe⁰ + Al₂(SO₄)₃ showed high RDX destruction (96–98%). This indicates that RDX-contaminated soil can be remediated at the field scale with Fe⁰ and soil-specific problems (i.e., alkalinity, high organic matter or Ba) can be overcome by adjustments to the Fe⁰ treatment.

Abbreviations: Fe⁰, zerovalent iron • LANL, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Related articles in JEQ:

This Issue in Journal of Environmental Quality

JEQ 2003 32: 1577-1582. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. D. Reid, S. L. Reneau, B. D. Newman, and D. D. Hickmott Barium and High Explosives in a Semiarid Alluvial System, Canon de Valle, New Mexico Vadose Zone J., August 16, 2005; 4(3): 744 - 759. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]