Fate of CL-20 in sandy soils : Degradation products as potential markers of natural attenuation

Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) is an emerging explosive that may replace the currently used explosives such as RDX and HMX, but little is known about its fate in soil. The present study was conducted to determine degradation products of CL-20 in two sandy soils under abiotic and biotic anaerobic conditions. Biotic degradation was prevalent in the slightly acidic VT soil, which contained a greater organic C content, while the slightly alkaline SAC soil favored hydrolysis. CL-20 degradation was accompanied by the formation of formate, glyoxal, nitrite, ammonium, and nitrous oxide. Biotic degradation of CL-20 occurred through the formation of its denitrohydrogenated derivative (m/z 393 Da) while hydrolysis occurred through the formation of a ring cleavage product (m/z 156 Da) that was tentatively identified as CH2 N\u2013C( N\u2013NO2)\u2013CH N\u2013CHO or its isomer N(NO2) CH\u2013CH N\u2013CO\u2013CH NH. Due to their chemical specificity, these two intermediates may be considered as markers of in situ attenuation of CL-20 in soil.NRC publication: Ye

Controlled expedient disposal of excess gun propellant

The expedient field disposal of excess gun propellants on the ground is an integral part of live-fire training in many countries. However, burning excess propellant in the field will leave significant quantities of energetic residues and heavy metals in the environment. Compounds such as dinitrotoluene and nitroglycerin and metals such as lead will leach into the soil column, eventually migrating to groundwater. Contamination of the environment will lead to high remediation costs and the possible loss of the training facility. After investigating the contamination at several propellant disposal sites, a portable propellant burn pan was developed and tested. The pan was transported to training sites where excess propellant was loaded and burned in a controlled manner. Up to 120 kg of excess single-base propellant charges have been burned during two series of tests at a consumption rate of greater than 99.9%. Less than 0.03% of the energetic material was recovered outside the burn pan. Recovered lead is largely contained within the pan. The turnover rate for burns is 15 min. The residues can be collected following cool-down for proper disposal

Microbial degradation of explosives: biotransformation versus mineralization

The nitroaromatic explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a reactive molecule that biotransforms readily under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions to give aminodinitrotoluenes. The resulting amines biotransform to give several other products, including azo, azoxy, acetyl and phenolic derivatives, leaving the aromatic ring intact. Although some Meisenheimer complexes, initiated by hydride ion attack on the ring, can be formed during TNT biodegradation, little or no mineralization is encountered during bacterial treatment. Also, although the ligninolytic physiological phase and manganese peroxidase system of fungi can cause some TNT mineralization in liquid cultures, little to no mineralization is observed in soil. Therefore, despite more than two decades of intensive research to biodegrade TNT, no biomineralization-based technologies have been successful to date. The non-aromatic cyclic nitramine explosives hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) lack the electronic stability enjoyed by TNT or its transformed products. Predictably, a successful enzymatic change on one of the N-NO2 or C-H bonds of the cyclic nitramine would lead to a ring cleavage because the inner C-N bonds in RDX become very weak (<2 kcal/mol). Recently this hypothesis was tested and proved feasible, when RDX produced high amounts of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide following its treatment with either municipal anaerobic sludge or the fungus Phanaerocheate chrysosporium. Research aimed at the discovery of new microorganisms and enzymes capable of mineralizing energetic chemicals and/or enhancing irreversible binding (immobilization) of their products to soil is presently receiving considerable attention from the scientific community.NRC publication: Ye

Additives effect of adsorption/desorption of TNT and common metabolites in soil

NRC publication: Ye

Monitoring the bioremediation of explosives using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

NRC publication: Ye