Abstract

AbstractThe U.S. Army is phasing out legacy munitions compounds that are prone to accidental detonation and replacing them with insensitive munitions compounds (IMCs). The major IMCs, namely 3‐nitro‐1,2,4‐triazol‐5‐one (NTO), 2,4‐dinitroanisole (DNAN), and nitroguanidine (NQ), are not compatible with existing munitions wastewater treatment technologies such as granular activated carbon due to their high water solubilities. In this study, a two‐stage process employing nanoscale zero‐valent iron (nZVI) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was evaluated as a potential technology for the destructive treatment of IMC wastewater. In the first stage, nZVI rapidly and completely degraded all three IMCs and generated dissolved Fe(II). NTO and DNAN were degraded via nitro reduction to 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazol‐5‐one and 2,4‐diaminoanisole, respectively. In the second stage, H2O2 was added to oxidize the IMC reduction products through Fenton reaction utilizing the dissolved Fe(II) from the first stage. nZVI‐treated NTO and DNAN samples showed 66 % and 63 % TOC removal after oxidation, respectively. In contrast, NQ reduction products exhibited negligible mineralization. The results with individual IMCs were confirmed by an experiment using synthetic wastewater containing all three IMCs. This study illustrates the potential feasibility of a synergistic and destructive nZVI−H2O2 technology for treating IMC‐laden wastewaters at military facilities.

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