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SITE TECHNOLOGY CAPSULE: J.R. SIMPLOT EX-SITU ANAEROBIC BIOREMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY: TNT
Citation:
Jackson, T. AND L. Hunter. SITE TECHNOLOGY CAPSULE: J.R. SIMPLOT EX-SITU ANAEROBIC BIOREMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY: TNT. EPA/540/R-95/529a (NTIS 96-117262), 1995.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
The J.R. Simplot Ex-Situ Bioremediation Technology is designed to degrade nitroaromatic compounds anaerobically, with total destruction of toxic intermediates at the completion of treatment. An evaluation of this technology was conducted under the SITE Program on TNT-contaminated soils at the WSOW site. This demonstration utilized 23 m3 (30 yd3) of TNT-contaminated soil mixed with water to form a slurry in a 1:1 ratio (by weight) to show the effectiveness of this technology. The demonstration was conducted over the 1993 winter under freezing conditions for five months of the demonstration test. To offset these below zero conditions, heaters were added to the bioreactor to keep the slurry from freezing. The reduction efficiency based on the TNT pretreatment slurry concentration of 1,500 mg/kg (dry basis) and the TNT post-treatment slurry concentration of 8.7 mg.kg (dry basis) was 99.4% with a confidence interval of 98.3% to 99.9%. The treatment time associated with this reduction efficiency was approximately nine months. This treatment time is considered to be a function of extreme external temperatures and the initial average TNT concentrations, among other factors. Intermediate byproducts (amino and diamino derivatives, p-cresol, and 2,4,6-trihydroxytoluene) were found to increase during the course of treatment and then decrease to below the analytical detection limit at the completion of treatment.