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Modeling the Reversible and Resistant Components of Munition Constituent Adsorption and Desorption on Soils

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Abstract

The reversible and resistant components of adsorption and desorption of munition constituents (MCs) on soils was studied to determine the environmental fate of these contaminants. The long-term desorption of MCs has applicability in formulating accurate risk assessments for operational military ranges. Batch experiments near 1:1 (w/v) soil-to-solution ratios reflecting field conditions using solutions containing mixtures of HMX, RDX, and nitroglycerine (NG) were conducted. The three soils used varied from 0.04 to 13.3 % organic matter. The experiment involved one adsorption step followed by four consecutive desorption steps. Adsorption times were 2, 5, 10, and 30 days. For each adsorption time, desorption times were carried out for 1, 12, 24 and 72 h and 30 days. The reversible/resistant component model was applied to the data. The model predicted the desorption concentrations of the MCs in the soil with root mean square errors of approximately 0.05 to 0.2 μg g soil−1. The extent of desorption hysteresis is not changed by the length of desorption time, irrespective of the initial adsorption time.

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Abbreviations

MC:

Munition constituent

K ow :

Octanol-water partition coefficient

NG:

Nitroglycerine

SOC:

Soil organic carbon

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the SERDP (Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program Project ER-1688). The authors thank the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) at the Aberdeen Proving Ground for their support and collaboration.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Rosalina Gonzalez, Kyle Michelson, Dominic M. Di Toro & Herbert E. Allen

  2. Department of Environmental Engineering, La Salle University, Bogota, Colombia

    Rosalina Gonzalez

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Kyle Michelson

Authors
  1. Rosalina Gonzalez
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  2. Kyle Michelson
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  3. Dominic M. Di Toro
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  4. Herbert E. Allen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Herbert E. Allen.

Additional information

Rosalina Gonzalez and Kyle Michelson provided equal effort in conducting the experiments.

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Gonzalez, R., Michelson, K., Di Toro, D.M. et al. Modeling the Reversible and Resistant Components of Munition Constituent Adsorption and Desorption on Soils. Water Air Soil Pollut 226, 219 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2486-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2486-3

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