Characterization of insoluble fractions of TNT transformed by composting
- 1 May 1994
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Environmental Science and Health . Part A: Environmental Science and Engineering and Toxicology
- Vol. 29 (4) , 659-670
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529409376063
Abstract
Soil contaminated with explosives was supplemented with carbon‐14 labelled 2,4,6‐trinitrotoluene (14C‐TNT) and was composted in a field static pile composting experiment. After 90 d of composting, the distribution of carbon‐14 (14C) activity in fractions from acetonitrile extraction ("free”; fraction, 1.2% of the initial 14C‐activity) and filtration ("insoluble ‐ particle”; fraction, 17.9%), alkaline hydrolysis ("insoluble ‐ hydrolyzable”; fraction, 56.8%), and combustion of the residue ("insoluble ‐nonhydrolyzable”; fraction, 4.7%) showed that the bulk of the l4C‐activity, and presumably transformed product(s) of the 14C‐TNT, accumulated in a nonextractable, but hydrolyzable fraction. Repetitive aqueous leaching of the compost and also ultraviolet light irradiation followed by leaching suggest that the insoluble fraction of transformed TNT should not be released appreciably by the action of acid rain or sunlight.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Composting of explosives and propellant contaminated soils under thermophilic and mesophilic conditionsJournal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology, 1992
- Comparison of extraction techniques for munitions residues in soilAnalytical Chemistry, 1987
- Reactivity of TNT & TNT - Microbial Reduction Products with Soil ComponentsPublished by Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) ,1983