Abstract
Riverbank filtration (RBF) is a low-cost and efficient water treatment technology for the removal of many surface water pollutants. It is widely used by water utilities in developed as well as developing countries to produce drinking water from surface water which is often polluted. In this research, the presence of explosive chemicals in riverbed sediments or in flowing water is considered as a potential threat to the quality of filtrate produced from RBF systems. For this, degradation experiments were conducted to examine the persistence of these compounds in river sediments. In addition, a model RBF system was setup to examine the breakthrough of the major explosive chemicals and their metabolites. Results show that HMX was the most mobile and compound followed by RDX. TNT and DNT degraded quickly. Thus, the presence of RDX and HMX could produce breakthroughs in high capacity collector wells located along riverbanks.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Dontsova KM, Yost SL, Simunek J et al (2006) Dissolution and transport of TNT, RDX, and composition B in saturated soil columns. J Environ Qual 35(6):2043–2054
Drewes JE, Hoppe C, Jennings T (2006) Fate and transport of N-nitrosamines under conditions simulating full-scale groundwater recharge operations. Water Environ Res 78(13):2466–2473
Eckert P, Irmscher R (2006) Over 130 years of experience with riverbank filtration in Düsseldorf, Germany.J Water Supply Res 55(4):283–291
Gollnitz WD, Clancy JL, Garner SC (1997) Reduction of microscopic particulates by aquifers. J Am Water Works Assoc 89(11):84–93
Gollnitz WD, Clancy JL, Whitteberry BL, Vogt JA (2003) RBF as a microbial treatment process. J Am Water Works Assoc 95(12):56–66
Moshe SSB, Ronen Z, Dahan O et al (2009) Sequential biodegradation of TNT, RDX and HMX in a mixture. Environ Pollut 157(8–9):2231–2238
Pennington JC, Brannon JM (2002) Environmental fate of explosives. Thermochim Acta 384(10):163–172
Ray C (2004) Modeling RBF efficacy for mitigating chemical shock loads. J Am Water Works Assoc 96(5):114–128
Ray C (2008) Worldwide potential of riverbank filtration. Clean Technol Environ Policy 10(3):223–225
Robidoux PY, Bardai G, Paquet L et al (2003) Phytotoxicity of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) in spiked artificial and natural forest soils. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 44(2):198–209
Singh P, Kumar P, Mehrotra I, Grischek T (2010) Impact of riverbank filtration on treatment of polluted river water. J Environ Manage 91(5):1055–1062
USEPA (2006) SW-846, Method 8330B. Nitroaromatics, nitramine, and nitrate esters by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). http://www.epa.gov/sw-846/pdfs/8330.pdf
Wu Y, Hui L, Wang H et al (2007) Effectiveness of riverbank filtration for removal of nitrogen from heavily polluted rivers: a case study of Kuihe River, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China. Environ Geol 52(1):19–25
Yoon MJ, Oliver JD, Shanks JV (2005) Plant transformation pathways of energetic materials (RDX, TNT, DNTs). In: Eaglesham A, Bessin R, Trigiano R, Hardy RWT (eds) Agricultural biotechnology: Beyond food and energy to health and the environment. National Agricultural Biotechnology Council Report 17. National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, New York
Zheng W, Lichwa J, D’Alessio M, Ray C (2009) Fate and transport of TNT, RDX, and HMX in streambed sediments: implications for riverbank filtration. Chemosphere 76(9):1167–1177
Acknowledgments
We thank Ms. Bunnie Yoneyama of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Hawaii for helping in various stages of this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Ray, C., Zheng, W., D’Alessio, M., Lichwa, J., Bartak, R. (2011). Potential of Riverbank Filtration to Remove Explosive Chemicals. In: Shamrukh, M. (eds) Riverbank Filtration for Water Security in Desert Countries. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0026-0_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0026-0_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-0025-3
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-0026-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)