1000/1000
Hot
Most Recent
Soil pollution resulting from explosives represents a critical environmental challenge. While physical methods like excavation and disposal are effective, their applicability is constrained by cost and logistical challenges for large contaminated areas. Chemical methods, such as oxidation and reduction, focus on transforming explosives into less toxic byproducts. Biological remediation utilizing plants and microorganisms emerges as a cost-effective and sustainable alternative.
Method | Level of Development | Area | Main Pollutants | Observations | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Biological technologies | |||||
Windrow composting. Aerobic conditions mixing 30% soil, 70% organic material (manure, sawdust, etc.) |
Full scale. 15,000 tons of soil |
Umatilla Army Depot, Hermiston, Oregon, USA |
ΤΝΤ: 4800 mg/kg RDX: 1000 mg/kg HMX: 800 mg/kg |
Processing in batches of 3000 tons within enclosed temporary structures for control of conditions. Duration: 10–12 days per batch. Reduction of pollutants below detection limits. Cost: 351 USD/t (1997). | [27][28] |
Variations of aerobic composting with (a) horse manure (20% w/w), (b) Daramend (2% w/w) and ZVI (0.5% w/w), (c) only ZVI (0.5% w/w) | Lab scale | Bofors Test Center, Karlskoga, Sweden | Soil. 1: RDX 1340 mg/kg; Soil 2: RDX 28,740 mg/kg | Soil 1. 94% removal of RDX with Darament + ZVI (75% with ZVI, 0% horse manure) after 26 weeks of treatment. Soil 2. The three variations were ineffective. | [29] |
Land farming compared to bioreactor with addition of molasses | Lab scale | Louisiana Army, Ammunition Plant, USA |
ΤΝΤ: 4000–10,000 mg/kg; RDX: 800–1900 mg/kg; HMX: 600–900 mg/kg | Removal of TNT after 182 days: 99% in the bioreactor and 82% with Techno-Agriculture. Lower effectiveness for RDX and HMX. | [23] |
Soil-pile vaccination with white-rot fungi | Pilot scale | Construction Establishment of Finnish Defense Administration, Finland | NTD: 19,000 mg/kg mixing soil (14 kg) with fertilizer (271 kg), adding pine bark with fungi (10 kg) | Soil dilution with fertilizer (1:20) to reduce toxicity. TNT degradation: 80% on a laboratory scale (in 76 days) and 70% on a pilot scale (in 49 days). | [30] |
Physicochemical technologies | |||||
Chemical Reduction | |||||
Addition of ZVI to soil piles. Application to static soil piles. Soil pile 1: Mixing 70 kg soil, 3.5 kg ZVI, 1.05 L CH3COOH. Soil pile 2: Mixing 70 kg soil, 3.5 kg ZVI, 2% w/w Al2(SO4)3. |
Pilot scale | Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, USA | Soil 1: RDX: 2700 mg/kg, pH 9.9 Soil 2: RDX: 12,100 mg/kg, pH 7 |
98% removal of RDX | [31] |
Adding sulfur compounds. Commercial product: MuniRem |
Field scale | Ravenna Army Ammunition Plant, USA | TNT: 3347 mg/kg RDX: 5977 mg/kg HMX: 647 mg/kg |
99.6% removal of ΤΝΤ, 96.5% removal of RDX, and 97.1% removal of HMX 97.1% in 24 h (>99% in two weeks) | [32] |
Alkaline Hydrolysis | |||||
Mixing with Ca(OH)2 solution at pH 11 and pH 12 | Lab scale | Former German ammunition factories | Soil 1: ΤΝΤ: 16,000 mg/kg; Soil 2: ΤΝΤ: 116 mg/kg | 93–98% removal of TNT in both soils within 7 days at both pH levels. DNT and ADNT showed more efficient removal at pH 12. | [33] |
Mixing soil with dry Ca(OH)2 5% and moisture 0–200% | Laboratory and semi-pilot scale (2 kg) | Soils from Iowa, USA | TNT 60 mg/kg | Optimal moisture ~25% Laboratory tests: 82–92% TNT removal in 10 days. Pilot test: Slower degradation | [34] |
Laboratory tests: Effect of soil chemistry, percentage of Ca(OH)2, etc. Pilot tests: Type of alkali, application methods. | Lab scale and pilot scale (70 kg) | 17 areas, Nebraska Ordnance Plant, USA | Pilot tests: RDX 38.4 mg/kg, HMX 4.4 mg/kg, TNT 10.8 mg/kg | Pilot tests: 82–83% removal of RDX in one week with calcium, hydroxylapatite, and complete mixing. Slower kinetics with surface application and the use of fly ash. | [35] |
Pump and treat | |||||
Adsorption on activated carbon | Established | Nebraska Ordnance Plant, USA | Contaminated soils, TNT and RDX > 5000 mg/kg had contaminated the aquifer, RDX up to 300 μg/L | 15,000 m3/day. Installation cost: USD 30 million. Annual o:perating cost: USD 800,000. | [36] |
In situ methods | |||||
Use of ZVI in permeable reactive barrier (PRB) (in situ chemical reduction) |
Demonstration scale | Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant (CAAP), Grand Island, Nebraska | RDX: 0.9 μg/L TNT: 130 μg/L | PRB dimensions: 15 m length, 4.5 m depth, and 1 m thickness. Content: ZVI (30%), sand (70%). Monitoring for 20 months. TNT below detection limits at the outlet PRB. Cost: USD 1940/m2 | [37] |
Bioremediation with nutrient addition Injection of soybean oil, lactic acid, Na, and surfactants |
Full-scale 2008 installation, continuous monitoring | Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas, | RDX: 4000 μg/L, | 42 injection wells on a surface area of 40,000 m2. Depth of the aquifer horizon: 78 m. Thickness: 4.5–6.0 m. Cost: USD 190 per m3 of groundwater. | [38][39] |
Bioremediation with nutrient addition Injection of whey (4.7 m3) into an aquifer (400 m2 × 2.5 m depth) |
In Situ pilot tests | Czech Republic | TNT: 10 mg/L > 90% | TNT removal over a period of 17 months | [40] |
Oxidation by Fenton Injection | Field application | Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, USA | RDX, HMX. | Injection, 16.6 m3 H2O2 (12.5%)/Fe2+ over a two-day period. After 26 days of treatment: 100% HMX removal, 60% RDX removal, and 72–100% removal of other nitroaromatic compounds | [41] |
Oxidation by NaMnO4 Injection of 70 m3 of NaMnO4 (10 g/L) to create a reactive zone (9.2 m × 4 m × 6 m depth) |
Pilot scale | Nebraska Ordnance Plant, USA | RDX 30–70 μg/L. Problems with the uniform distribution of permanganate in the soil. | RDX concentrations reduced by 70–80% near injection wells | [36] |