FULL-SCALE ANAEROBIC BIOREMEDIATION OF TRINITROTOLUENE (TNT) CONTAMINATED SOIL - A US EPA SITE PROGRAM DEMONSTRATION

An anaerobic bioremediation process for the degradation of nitroaromatic compounds in soil was demonstrated. This ex situ process was demonstrated full-scale at a 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT)-contaminated site near Weldon Spring, MO. A bioreactor was loaded with approx 23 m(3) of TNT-contaminated soil in the form of a 50:50 soil: water slurry. This slurry was augmented with a starchy carbon source (1-2% w/v) and buffered with phosphate to near-neutral pH. Indigenous soil bacteria utilized the oxygen, making the slurry anaerobic within 1-2 d. Anaerobes then degraded the TNT (3000 mg/kg) in approx 11 wk. A relatively long treatment time for the bioremediation of the TNT-contaminated soil was necessary, possibly because of the cool ambient temperatures, high clay content of the soil, high level of contamination, and high level of recalcitrance of TNT in soils.