28 research outputs found
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Chemical and biological systems for treating waste streams contaminated with high explosives
The removal of high explosives (HIE) from ordnance is being accomplished via washout steamout procedures. Because large volumes of waste water are generated by these processes, safe and efficient methods must be developed for their treatment. Activated carbon can be used to efficiently remove HE from aqueous waste streams, but carbon that is laden with HE constitutes a hazardous solid waste. Although conventional treatment methods (i.e., incineration, open burning) are available, they may not be in compliance with existing or future environmental regulations. New and cost-effective methods are therefore required for the elimination of this solid waste. We are developing and demonstrating coupled chemical and biological systems for the safe and economical treatment of HE-laden activated carbon. We have developed a completely engineered treatment system to accomplish this objective and have been operating a pilot treatment system at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, TX. In this system, HE- contaminated waste water is treated first by activated-carbon adsorption columns. The HE sorbed to carbon is subsequently recovered via heated solvent elution or by base hydrolysis. The HE- or hydrolysate-laden fluid is then treated using a denitrifying culture of microorganisms, which converts the HE or hydrolysate byproducts to less hazardous endproducts. With these methods, the treated carbon can either be re-used or disposed as a nonhazardous waste. This strategy, which has been shown to be effective for the regeneration of carbon and the degradation of RDX and HMX, will be applicable to other energetic chemicals sorbed to activated carbon
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Ion-optics calculations of the LLNL AMS system for biochemical 14C measurements
Non-DNA Methods for Biological Signatures
Schaldach CM, deYoreo JJ, Esposito A, et al. Non-DNA Methods for Biological Signatures. In: Breeze RG, Budowle B, Schutzer SE, eds. Microbial Forensics. Elsevier Academic Press. Burlington; In Press: 262-295