Anaerobic biodegradation of RDX and HMX with different co-substrates

Simulated wastewater of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) was treated under anaerobic conditions with co-substrates such as ammonium chloride, dextrose, sodium acetic, sodium nitrate and sulfate. The results showed that with nitrogen compounds such as ammonium chloride added as co-substrate, no significant change was observed, indicating that the molar ratio of N/C for RDX and HMX is sufficient for biodegradation. With the addition of dextrose and acetate to the system, biodegradation efficiency was enhanced greatly. For example, with dextrose as the co-substrate, degradation efficiency of 99.1% and 98.5% was achieved for RDX and HMX, respectively, after treatment for 7 days. When sodium acetic was used as the co-substrate, the enhancement of degradation percentage was similar, but was not as high as that with dextrose, indicating the selectivity of RDX and HMX to co-substrate during anaerobic degradation. With sodium nitrate as the co-substrate, the degradation efficiency of RDX or HMX decreased with the increase of salt concentration. Sodium sulfate has no significant effect on the biodegradation of RDX and HMX. A well-selected co-substrate should be employed in applications for degradation of RDX and HMX wastewaters.

Anaerobic biodegradation of RDX (A) and HMX (B) with ammonium chloride at different concentrations.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide