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Picric Acid Degradation in Sediments from the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant

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Abstract

Picric acid is an explosive historically produced and disposed at the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant (LAAP) in northern Louisiana. The potential for natural degradation of picric acid was investigated by creating picric-acid slurries with four LAAP sediments of variable composition and monitoring for up to 98 days. The concentrations of picric acid decreased rapidly in all slurries during the first day, attributed to adsorption, followed by slower decreases in some samples due to degradation. Degradation in unsterilized slurries was nearly complete within 80 days for two of the four sediments. Increases in nitrite and nitrate concentration over time were proportional to the loss of picric acid and indicate that at least two of the three nitrite groups were removed from the picric acid molecule. The absence of significant concentrations of compounds with a mass greater than 100 amu in the final solutions suggests that all three nitrite groups were removed. No correlation was found between the degree of degradation and grain size, clay content, organic content, carbonate content, or a suite of element concentrations in the sediment. Degradation in sterilized samples was minimal for all sediment slurries, indicating microbial activity as the primary mechanism of degradation.

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Author notes

  1. Yongqiang Tan

    Present address: Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering, University of Oklahoma, 100 E. Boyd St., EC T-335, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

  2. Chun Hwa See

    Present address: Assembly Technology Development, Intel Corporation, Penang, 11900, Malaysia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, Oxford, MS, USA

    Yongqiang Tan, Chun Hwa See & John H. O’haver

  2. Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, Oxford, MS, USA

    Gregg R. Davidson & Stephanie Rice

  3. National Center for Natural Products Research, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA

    D. Chuck Dunbar

  4. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Vicksburg, MS, USA

    Danny W. Harrelson & Mansour Zakikhani

Authors
  1. Yongqiang Tan
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  2. Gregg R. Davidson
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  3. Chun Hwa See
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  4. D. Chuck Dunbar
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  5. John H. O’haver
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  6. Stephanie Rice
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  7. Danny W. Harrelson
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  8. Mansour Zakikhani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gregg R. Davidson.

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Tan, Y., Davidson, G.R., See, C.H. et al. Picric Acid Degradation in Sediments from the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant. Water Air Soil Pollut 177, 169–181 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-006-9133-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-006-9133-y

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