Targeted Degradation of Trinitrotoluene Using Iron (II)-Cyclodextrin-Peroxide Systems

• Main Author: Wei, Bo
• Format: Others
• Published: ScholarWorks@UNO 2003
• Subjects: Remediation; Fenton reaction; TNT; Cyclodextrin
• Online Access: http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/59; http://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=td

Residues of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in soil and groundwater near former production and processing plants generate large environmental concerns. A cyclodextrin (CD) mediated Fenton remediation of TNT contaminated water and sand (soil analogy) is presented. Kinetic studies were performed to elucidate the role of cyclodextrin in Fenton remediation of TNT contaminated water. The rate and extent of TNT degraded by Fe2+- CD-H2O2 systems were significantly enhanced as compared to the classic Fenton method. Further, in water system with interfering substance - humic acid, which tends to associate with TNT, the addition of cyclodextrin helped to improve the efficiency of Fenton degradation. This technique has also been successfully applied to remediate TNT contaminated soil systems (sand). Four systems were investigated: clean sand, sand and humic acid, sand and fulvic acid, sand and natural organic matter. This technique has shown superior performance than classic Fenton method in all of the four above systems.