Removal of Explosives from Load-Assemble-Pack Wastewater (Pink Water) Using Surfactant Technology.

摘要

A study of surfactant treatment for ammunition plant wastewaters containing TNT and RDX (pink water) has shown that both of these toxic explosives can be removed from solution within 1 hour. The optimum conditions appear to be a combination of pH 11 and 0.4 mole of the quaternary surfactant (N, N, N', N', N' - pentamethyl N-tallow 1, 3 propane diammonium dichloride) for each mole of TNT in solution. The process has been determined to be technically feasible and economically attractive, although analytical techniques for determination of the degree of reaction must be improved. The cost of chemicals required for treatment (surfactant and sodium hydroxide) is about $1.60 per 3,875 liters (1,000 gallons) of wastewater. The products of the treatment are a precipitated TNT-surfactant complex and a filtrate which contains RDX hydrolysis products, alkali, and possibly some yet-to-be-identified substances. It may be necessary to neutralize the filtrate before discharge since the final pH is about 10.5.