Degradation of munition wastes byPhanerochaete chrysosporium

“Pink water” is a waste-water stream generated by munitions LAP (loading, assembly, and packing) operations. The major components of this waste water are trinitrotoluene (TNT) and cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX) at concentrations of 120-175 mg/L and 25 mg/L, respectively. Currently, pink water is treated by activated carbon adsorption. Removal efficiencies of >99.5% have been reported. However, this treatment method suffers a serious limitation in that the carbon cannot be safely regenerated. Loaded carbon is disposed of by incineration after a single use.

We have demonstrated that TNT, RDX, simulated, and actual pink water can be effectively treated byPhanerochaete chrysosporium immobilized on the disks of a rotating biological contractor (RBC) in both batch and continuous modes. Greater than 90% removal of TNT from a simulated pink water was observed in a continuous RBC with a residence time of about 24 h. The disk area required was about 10,000 ft²/gpm (4091 m²/m³h) feed. RDX was amenable to treatment, but RDX removal rates were somewhat slower. A full-scale treatment system was designed on the basis of laboratory data, and a cost analysis was performed. This analysis has shown that biotreatment of pink water can be a cost-effective alternative to carbon adsorption.