Fate of explosives and their metabolites in bioslurry treatment processes

Microcosm tests simulating bioslurry reactors with 40% soil content, containing high concentrations of TNT and/or RDX, and spiked with either [14C]-TNT or [14C]-RDX were conducted to investigate the fate of explosives and their metabolites in bioslurry treatment processes. RDX is recalcitrant to indigenous microorganisms in soil and activated sludge under aerobic conditions. However, soil indigenous microorganisms alone were able to mineralize 15% of RDX to CO2 under anaerobic condition, and supplementation of municipal anaerobic sludge as an exogenous source of microorganisms significantly enhanced the RDX mineralization to 60%. RDX mineralizing activity of microorganisms in soil and sludge was significantly inhibited by the presence of TNT. TNT mineralization was poor (< 2%) and was not markedly improved by the supplement of aerobic or anaerobic sludge. Partitioning studies of [14C]-TNT in the microcosms revealed that the removal of TNT during the bioslurry process was due mainly to the transformation of TNT and irreversible binding of TNT metabolites onto soil matrix. In the case of RDX under anaerobic conditions, a significant portion (35%) of original radioactivity was also incorporated into the biomass and bound to the soil matrix.