Adsorption of RDX and HMX in Rapid Small-Scale Column Tests: Implications for Full-Scale Adsorbers
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 1
Abstract
The high explosive (HE) compounds royal demolition explosive or hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazocine (RDX) and high melting explosive or octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) have been detected as groundwater contaminants at many military facilities. This research evaluated adsorption of RDX and HMX with granular activated carbon (GAC) to provide guidance for the design and operation of GAC adsorbers for treatment of HE-contaminated groundwater. Five GACs were screened using rapid small-scale column tests (RSSCTs), after which additional tests were performed with the two GACs that most effectively treated mixtures of RDX and HMX (Calgon F400 and Northwestern LB-830). GAC service life as a function of empty-bed contact time (EBCT) was determined using RSSCTs for a range of simulated full scale EBCTs with influent concentrations of 2,200 μg RDX/L and 350 μg HMX/L. Increasing the influent concentration of either contaminant significantly reduced the predicted service life, as did preloading GAC with groundwater natural organic matter. In batch isotherm tests, RDX was less adsorbable than HMX under all conditions studied. Concurrent loading of natural organic matter reduced the Freundlich K for RDX, whereas adsorption of HMX was not affected. Of the GACs tested, Calgon F400 most effectively removed RDX and HMX.
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Acknowledgments
This research was conducted with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC04-5AL85832. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the DOE. This work was conducted through the Amarillo National Resource Center for Plutonium. The writers sincerely appreciate the suggestions of Dr. Bruce Dvorak (UNL Department of Civil Engineering) during preparation of this manuscript.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 1 • January 2005
Pages: 29 - 37
Copyright
© 2004 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 25, 2003
Accepted: Nov 19, 2003
Published online: Jan 1, 2005
Published in print: Jan 2005
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Mark J. Rood
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