(92c) Ex-Situ Destruction of Rdx in Contaminated Groundwater by Direct Electrolysis

RDX, 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5- triazine, is one of the most used explosives by the armed forces. This presents a problem in ammunition plants, training sites and demilitarization sites. RDX does not sorb strongly to soils or sediments therefore, it percolates through the soils into groundwater posing a risk to human health. RDX is considered a possible human (Class C) carcinogen by the US EPA. The Federal drinking water guideline is 2 ug/L. The current treatment method for RDX contaminated groundwater is pump-and-treat using granulated activated carbon. The spent or used RDX contaminated carbon must be disposed as a hazardous waste with no carbon regeneration because of regulatory requirements. The purpose of this research project was to evaluate the capability of direct electrolysis to destroy RDX in contaminated groundwater. Periodic solution samples were taken and analyzed by HPLC to determine the viability of direct electrolysis as an RDX-contaminated-groundwater-remediation-treatment. After graphing the RDX concentration vs. retention time and evaluating different voltages and types of electrodes it can be said that direct electrolysis is a possible treatment for RDX contaminated groundwater but the process still requires more experimentation to fine tune the procedure. Future experimentation should focus on the porous or 3-D electrodes since they were the ones that showed no RDX presence in the solution.

KEYWORDS: RDX, electrolysis, high explosives, groundwater, remediation.