Theses and Dissertations

Fangzhu Liu

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Zappi, Mark E.

Committee Member

Bricka, R. Mark

Committee Member

Kuo, Chiang H.

Committee Member

French, W. Todd

Date of Degree

5-10-2003

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Chemical Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering

Abstract

2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is of environmental concern because it?s a possible human carcinogen and it also remains potentially explosive. The Department of the Army (DA) estimates that there are 540,000 cubic meters (700,000 cubic yards) of explosives-contaminated soil at over 2,000 sites that require remediation. Biological treatment of TNT results in the production of the reduced intermediates (such as aminonitrotoluenes). When using chemical oxidation processes to treat TNT, 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB) is produced. The by-products of both biological and oxidation treatment processes are resistant to further treatment thus they require extensive treatment times. This study evaluated the use of biotic mechanisms that can be used to reduce TNT into aminodinitrotoluenes, which then are oxidized using Fenton?s Reagent oxidation process. Integration experimental results showed that Fenton?s Reagent was capable of degrading TNT, though not as fast as ADNTs. The optimal Fe2+/H2O2 ratio appears to be less than 10:1. The TNT biodegradation rate was higher than the TNT oxidation rate and was biodegraded at a faster rate compared to the ADNTs. It was concluded that the integrated technology showed promise as an effective and innovative technology for treating TNT contaminated soil.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19289

Comments

TNT

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