Biodegradation of high explosive production effluent containing RDX and HMX by denitrifying bacteria

An Overview of Treatment Approaches for Octahydro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetranitro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetrazocine (HMX) Explosive in Soil, Groundwater, and Wastewater

Octahydro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetranitro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetrazocine (HMX) is extensively exploited in the manufacturing of explosives; therefore, a significant level of HMX contamination can be encountered near explosive production plants. For instance, up to 12 ppm HMX concentrations have been observed in the wastewater effluent of a munitions manufacturing facility, while up to 45,000 mg/kg of HMX has been found in a soil sample taken from a location close to a high-explosive production site. Owing to their immense demand for a variety of applications, the large-scale production of explosives has culminated in severe environmental issues. Soil and water contaminated with HMX can pose a detrimental impact on flora and fauna and hence, remediation of HMX is paramount. There is a rising demand to establish a sustainable technology for HMX abatement. Physiochemical and bioremediation approaches have been employed to treat HMX in the soil, groundwater, and wastewater. It has been revealed that treatment methods such as photo-peroxidation and photo-Fenton oxidation can eliminate approximately 98% of HMX from wastewater. Fenton's reagents were found to be very effective at mineralizing HMX. In the photocatalytic degradation of HMX, approximately 59% TOC removal was achieved by using a TiO₂ photocatalyst, and a dextrose co-substrate was used in a bioremediation approach to accomplish 98.5% HMX degradation under anaerobic conditions. However, each technology has some pros and cons which need to be taken into consideration when choosing an HMX remediation approach. In this review, various physiochemical and bioremediation approaches are considered and the mechanism of HMX degradation is discussed. Further, the advantages and disadvantages of the technologies are also discussed along with the challenges of HMX treatment technologies, thus giving an overview of the HMX remediation strategies.

Effects of Perchlorate and Other Groundwater Inorganic Co-Contaminants on Aerobic RDX Degradation

Hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) pollution is accompanied by other co-contaminants, such as perchlorate and chlorates, which can retard biodegradation. The effects of perchlorate and chlorate on aerobic RDX degradation remain unclear. We hypothesized that they have a negative or no impact on aerobic RDX-degrading bacteria. We used three aerobic RDX-degrading strains—Rhodococcus strains YH1 and T7 and Gordonia YY1—to examine this hypothesis. The strains were exposed to perchlorate, chlorate, and nitrate as single components or in a mixture. Their growth, degradation activity, and gene expression were monitored. Strain-specific responses to the co-contaminants were observed: enhanced growth of strain YH1 and inhibition of strain T7. Vmax and Km of cytochrome P450 (XplA) in the presence of the co-contaminants were not significantly different from the control, suggesting no direct influence on cytochrome P450. Surprisingly, xplA expression increased fourfold in cultures pre-grown on RDX and, after washing, transferred to a medium containing only perchlorate. This culture did not grow, but xplA was translated and active, albeit at lower levels than in the control. We explained this observation as being due to nitrogen limitation in the culture and not due to perchlorate induction. Our results suggest that the aerobic strain YH1 is effective for aerobic remediation of RDX in groundwater.

In-vessel composting of HMX and RDX contaminated sludge using microbes isolated from contaminated site

Current study was carried out with an objective to remediate highly contaminated sludge with HMX and RDX obtained from an explosive manufacturing facility in North India employing indigenous microbes, Arthrobacter subterraneus (isolate no. S2-TSB-17) and Bacillus sonorensis (isolate no. S8-TSB-4) which were isolated from the same contaminated site. In-vessel composting of the explosive contaminated sludge was performed in 12 different bioreactors using cow manure and garden waste as bulking agents. 78.5% degradation of HMX was observed in reactor no. 2 with Bacillus sonorensis having combination of 10% sludge, 70% cow manure and 20% garden waste on 80th day. Two secondary metabolites Bis(hydroxymethyl)nitramine and methylene dinitramine were identified while studying the degradation pathway. Similarly, degradation of 91.2% was observed for RDX in reactor no. 11 with consortia of Arthrobacter subterraneus and Bacillus sonorensis on 80th day. During the study, release of significant nitrate and nitrite ions were observed. It has already been established that RDX and HMX degradation leads to release of nitrite/nitrate ions. The highest nitrite (reactor no. 11) and nitrate (reactor no. 2) release observed were 24.02 ± 0.05 mg/kg and 30.65 ± 0.99 mg/kg on 50th and 70th day, respectively. Scanning electron microscopic studies confirmed the attachment and presence of microbes with solid surface and no deformation in structure was observed in the microbial cells due to contamination stress. Findings of the study concluded that in-vessel composting assisted with native bacterial species can be a potential technology for the treatment of explosive contaminated sludge at the contaminated sites.

Enhancing hexahydro-1, 3, 5-trinitro-1, 3, 5-triazine (RDX) remediation through water-dispersible Microbacterium esteraromaticum granules

In the current manuscript, we explored the remediation potential of Hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) by Gram-positive Microbacterium esteraromaticum 12849. The strain detoxified 70.9 and 63.93% RDX in minimal nutrient medium and soil, respectively. Subsequently, the strain 12849 was formulated in form of water-dispersible granules (WDG) using talcum powder and alginic acid as inert ingredients. During the microcosm study, WDG exhibited 8.98% enhanced RDX degradation in contrast to the unformulated Microbacterium esteraromaticum. The LC-MS analysis revealed the presence of two intermediates, namely N-methyl-N, N'-dinitromethanediamine, and methylenedintramine, during the RDX degradation by strain 12849 in soil. Interestingly, no significant difference was observed in the rate of RDX degradation by strain 12849 due to the formulation process. The first-order kinetics was seen in RDX degradation with a degradation coefficient of 0.04 and 0.0339 day^-1 by formulated and unformulated strain, respectively. The current investigation implies M. esteraromaticum as a potential microbe for RDX degradation and opens up the possibility of exploiting it in its effective WDG form for explosive contaminated sites.

Aerobic biodegradation of HMX by Planomicrobium flavidum

In this report, aerobic biodegradation of octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine or high melting explosive (HMX), a highly explosive chemical by Planomicrobium flavidum strain S5-TSA-19, an isolate from an explosive-contaminated soil, was investigated. The isolate S5-TSA-19 degraded 70% of HMX in 20 days during which time nitrite ion was produced with the subsequent formation of metabolites, viz. methylenedintramine and N-methyl-N,N'-dinitromethanediamine with molecular weights 136 Da and 149 Da, respectively. The degradation mechanism was found to follow first-order kinetics with a half-life of 11.55 days and formation of above intermediates indicate single nitrite elimination pathway. The proliferation of isolate S5-TSA-19 in the absence of nitramines indicates the cometabolic degradation of HMX. Isolate S5-TSA-19 can thus be used as futuristic microbe for degradation of HMX at explosive-contaminated site.

Multivariate soil fertility relationships for predicting the environmental persistence of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-tricyclohexane (RDX) among taxonomically distinct soils

After nearly a century of use in numerous munition platforms, TNT and RDX contamination has turned up largely in the environment due to ammunition manufacturing or as part of releases from low-order detonations during training activities. Although the basic knowledge governing the environmental fate of TNT and RDX are known, accurate predictions of TNT and RDX persistence in soil remain elusive, particularly given the universal heterogeneity of pedomorphic soil types. In this work, we proposed overcoming this problem by considering the environmental persistence of these munition constituents (MC) as multivariate mathematical functions over a variety of taxonomically distinct soil types, instead of a single constant or parameter of a specific absolute value. To test this idea, we conducted experiments where the disappearance kinetics of TNT and RDX were measured over a >300 h period in taxonomically distinct soils. Classical fertility-based soil measurements were log-transformed, statistically decomposed, and correlated to TNT and RDX disappearance rates (k_-TNTand k_-RDX) using multivariate dimension-reduction and correlation techniques. From these efforts, we generated multivariate linear functions for k parameters across different soil types based on a statistically reduced set of their chemical and physical properties: Calculations showed that the soil properties exhibited strong covariance, with a prominent latent structure emerging as the basis for relative comparisons of the samples in reduced space. Loadings describing TNT degradation were largely driven by properties associated with alkaline/calcareous soil characteristics, while the degradation of RDX was attributed to the soil organic matter content - reflective of an important soil fertility characteristic. In spite of the differing responses to the munitions, batch data suggested that the overall nutrient dynamics were consistent for each soil type, as well as readily distinguishable from the other soil types used in this study. Thus, we hypothesized that the latent structure arising from the strong covariance of full multivariate geochemical matrix describing taxonomically distinguished "soil types" may provide the means for potentially predicting complex phenomena in soils.

Stable isotope probing reveals the importance of Comamonas and Pseudomonadaceae in RDX degradation in samples from a Navy detonation site

This study investigated the microorganisms involved in hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) degradation from a detonation area at a Navy base. Using Illumina sequencing, microbial communities were compared between the initial sample, samples following RDX degradation, and controls not amended with RDX to determine which phylotypes increased in abundance following RDX degradation. The effect of glucose on these communities was also examined. In addition, stable isotope probing (SIP) using labeled ((13)C3, (15)N3-ring) RDX was performed. Illumina sequencing revealed that several phylotypes were more abundant following RDX degradation compared to the initial soil and the no-RDX controls. For the glucose-amended samples, this trend was strong for an unclassified Pseudomonadaceae phylotype and for Comamonas. Without glucose, Acinetobacter exhibited the greatest increase following RDX degradation compared to the initial soil and no-RDX controls. Rhodococcus, a known RDX degrader, also increased in abundance following RDX degradation. For the SIP study, unclassified Pseudomonadaceae was the most abundant phylotype in the heavy fractions in both the presence and absence of glucose. In the glucose-amended heavy fractions, the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes of Comamonas and Anaeromxyobacter were also present. Without glucose, the heavy fractions also contained the 16S rRNA genes of Azohydromonas and Rhodococcus. However, all four phylotypes were present at a much lower level compared to unclassified Pseudomonadaceae. Overall, these data indicate that unclassified Pseudomonadaceae was primarily responsible for label uptake in both treatments. This study indicates, for the first time, the importance of Comamonas for RDX removal.

Acclimation of aerobic-activated sludge degrading benzene derivatives and co-metabolic degradation activities of trichloroethylene by benzene derivative-grown aerobic sludge

The acclimation of aerobic-activated sludge for degradation of benzene derivatives was investigated in batch experiments. Phenol, benzoic acid, toluene, aniline and chlorobenzene were concurrently added to five different bioreactors which contained the aerobic-activated sludge. After the acclimation process ended, the acclimated phenol-, benzoic acid-, toluene-, aniline- and chlorobenzene-grown aerobic-activated sludge were used to explore the co-metabolic degradation activities of trichloroethylene (TCE). Monod equation was employed to simulate the kinetics of co-metabolic degradation of TCE by benzene derivative-grown sludge. At the end of experiments, the mixed microbial communities grown under different conditions were identified. The results showed that the acclimation periods of microorganisms for different benzene derivatives varied. The maximum degradation rates of TCE for phenol-, benzoic acid-, toluene-, aniline- and chlorobenzene-grown aerobic sludge were 0.020, 0.017, 0.016, 0.0089 and 0.0047 mg g SS(-1) h(-1), respectively. The kinetic of TCE degradation in the absence of benzene derivative followed Monod equation well. Also, eight phyla were observed in the acclimated benzene derivative-grown aerobic sludge. Each of benzene derivative-grown aerobic sludge had different microbial community composition. This study can hopefully add new knowledge to the area of TCE co-metabolic by mixed microbial communities, and further the understanding on the function and applicability of aerobic-activated sludge.

Removal rates of dissolved munitions compounds in seawater

The historical exposure of coastal marine systems to munitions compounds is of significant concern due to the global distribution of impacted sites and known toxicological effects of nitroaromatics. In order to identify specific coastal regions where persistence of these chemicals should be of concern, it is necessary to experimentally observe their behavior under a variety of realistic oceanographic conditions. Here, we conduct a mesocosm scale pulse addition experiment to document the behavior of two commonly used explosives, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in simulated marine systems containing water and sediments collected from Long Island Sound, CT. The addition of sediments and sediment grain-size had a major influence on the loss rates of all compounds detected. RDX and reduced TNT products were removed from seawater only in the presence of sediment, and TNT degraded significantly faster in the presence of sediment. Both compounds were removed from the system faster with decreasing grain-size. Based on these findings and a thorough review of the literature, we hypothesize that in addition to bacterial abundance and nutrient availability, TNT removal rates in coastal marine waters may be controlled by sorption and rapid surface-mediated bacterial transformation, while RDX removal rates are controlled by diffusion into sedimentary anoxic regions and subsequent anaerobic bacterial breakdown. A comparison of published removal rates of RDX and TNT highlights the extreme variability in measured degradation rates and identifies physicochemical variables that covary with the breakdown of these munitions compounds.

Soils contaminated with explosives: Environmental fate and evaluation of state-of-the-art remediation processes (IUPAC Technical Report)

An explosion occurs when a large amount of energy is suddenly released. This energy may come from an over-pressurized steam boiler, from the products of a chemical reaction involving explosive materials, or from a nuclear reaction that is uncontrolled. In order for an explosion to occur, there must be a local accumulation of energy at the site of the explosion, which is suddenly released. This release of energy can be dissipated as blast waves, propulsion of debris, or by the emission of thermal and ionizing radiation. Modern explosives or energetic materials are nitrogen-containing organic compounds with the potential for self-oxidation to small gaseous molecules (N2, H2O, and CO2). Explosives are classified as primary or secondary based on their susceptibility of initiation. Primary explosives are highly susceptible to initiation and are often used to ignite secondary explosives, such as TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene), RDX (1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine), HMX (1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane), and tetryl (N-methyl-N-2,4,6-tetranitro-aniline).