Full-scale anaerobic bioremediation of trinitrotoluene (TNT) contaminated soil: a US EPA SITE program demonstration
1995
Funk, S.B. | Crawford, D.L. | Crawford, R.L. | Mead, G. | Davis-Hoover, W.
An anaerobic bioremediation process for the degradation of nitro-aromatic compounds in soil was demonstrated. This ex situ process was demonstrated full-scale at a 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT)-contaminated site near Weldon Spring, MO. A bioreactor was loaded with approx 23 m3 of TNT-contaminated soil in the form of a 50:50 soil:water slurry. This slurry was augmented with a starchy carbon source (1-2% w/v) and buffered with phosphate to near-neutral pH. Indigenous soil bacteria utilized the oxygen, making the slurry anaerobic within 1-2 d. Anaerobes then degraded the TNT (3000 mg/kg) in approx 11 wk. A relatively long treatment time for the bioremediation of the TNT-contaminated soil was necessary, possibly because of the cool ambient temperatures, high clay content of the soil, high level of contamination, and high level of recalcitrance of TNT in soils.
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