Biodegradation of the High Explosive Hexanitrohexaazaiso-Wurtzitane (CL-20)

Authors

Pelin Karakaya, Langan Engineering & Environmental Services
Christos Christodoulatos, Stevens Institute of Technology
Agamemnon Koutsospyros, University of New HavenFollow
Wendy Balas, US Army TACOM-ARDEC
Steve Nicolich Nicolich, US Army TACOM-ARDEC
Mohammed Sidhoum, Birdsall Services Group

Author URLs

Professor Koutsospyros' Faculty Profile

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Subject: LCSH

Biodegradation, Biomineralization

Disciplines

Civil and Environmental Engineering | Civil Engineering

Abstract

The aerobic biodegradability of the high explosive CL-20 by activated sludge and the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium has been investigated. Although activated sludge is not effective in degrading CL-20 directly, it can mineralize the alkaline hydrolysis products. Phanerochaete chrysosporium degrades CL-20 in the presence of supplementary carbon and nitrogen sources. Biodegradation studies were conducted using various nutrient media under diverse conditions. Variables included the CL-20 concentration; levels of carbon (as glycerol) and ammonium sulfate and yeast extract as sources of nitrogen. Cultures that received CL-20 at the time of inoculation transformed CL-20 completely under all nutrient conditions studied. When CL-20 was added to pregrown cultures, degradation was limited. The extent of mineralization was monitored by the 14CO2 time evolution; up to 51% mineralization was achieved when the fungus was incubated with [14C]-CL-20. The kinetics of CL-20 biodegradation by Phanerochaete chrysosporium follows the logistic kinetic growth model.

Comments

© 2009 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Journal is found at http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

DOI

10.3390/ijerph6041371

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Repository Citation

Karakaya, Pelin; Christodoulatos, Christos; Koutsospyros, Agamemnon; Balas, Wendy; Nicolich, Steve Nicolich; and Sidhoum, Mohammed, "Biodegradation of the High Explosive Hexanitrohexaazaiso-Wurtzitane (CL-20)" (2009). Civil Engineering Faculty Publications. 10.
https://digitalcommons.newhaven.edu/civilengineering-facpubs/10

Publisher Citation

Karakaya, P., Christodoulatos, C., Koutsospyros, A., Balas, W., Nicolich, S., & Sidhoum, M. (2009). Biodegradation of the high explosive hexanitrohexaazaiso-wurtzitane (CL-20). International journal of environmental research and public health, 6(4), 1371-1392.