Thermophilic Aerobic Treatment of Explosives Wastes (Pink Water Sludge): Bench Scale Test Results

Explosives wastes are generated by U.S. Army facilities as a result of explosives manufacturing; munitions load, assemble, and pack (LAP) operations; explosives machining, casting and curing; and laboratory testing of munitions. These nitroaromatic compounds are relatively refractory to biological degradation. Thermophilic aerobic treatment systems offer the potential to degrade these compounds. The AFCSM process is a combination of single-stage thermophilic aerobic biological treatment, side stream chemical treatment step, and efficient solids separation. This paper describes a four-month bench test conducted using explosives wastes from McAlester Army Ammunition Plant (MAAP) in Oklahoma. The bench test covered several different and variable loading conditions. Respirometric test procedures were used to validate whether or not waste destruction had occurred due to biological activities.