RDX Biodegradation by a Methanogenic Enrichment Culture Obtained from an Explosives Manufacturing Wastewater Treatment Plant

摘要

This study examined the biodegradation of RDX in wastewater from an industrial wastewater treatment plant at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport, TN. Serum bottles containing 100 ml of a basal salts medium amended with 10 percent (v/v) sludge from the anoxic filter at the plant were amended with RDX and incubated under methanogenic conditions. Biodegradation intermediates corresponding to the mono-, di-, and trinitroso- RDX were observed. A methanogenic enrichment culture, derived from the wastewater, biodegraded 25 %micronmeter RDX in less than 16 days when ethanol was supplied as an electron donor. Methane production in the ethanol amended bottles was only observed after RDX had been depleted, while RDX unamended controls experienced no lag in methane production. The addition of 5 mM BESA to the culture inhibited methane production, but not RDX and ethanol degradation. These findings demonstrate the importance of adding reduced cosubstrates to enhance RDX biodegradation, and support the hypothesis that RDX is serving as a terminal electron acceptor in methanogenic environments.