Pollution Control in the Explosives Industry
JAMES W. PATTERSON, Associate Professor
Department of Environmental Engineering
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois 60616
ROGER A. MINEAR, Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
The University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee 37916
INTRODUCTION
The manufacture of explosives for commercial and military uses is a major industry
with many different types of products, and a spectrum in character and concentration of
product-related wastewaters. Annually, over 2.5 billion tons of commercial explosives
alone are produced. These are primarily nitrogen-based compounds, predominately
organic in nature. Intermediate and adjunct products are often associated with the specific
manufacture of explosives. Typical intermediate products include ammonia, ammonium
nitrate, and nitric and sulfuric acids. Adjunct products include electric matches, detonating
cords, blasting caps and other explosive initiating devices.
The nature of the commercial explosives industry has changed rapidly since the 1950's.
Many products have been phased out or significantly reduced in use, due to the
development of more effective and reliable explosives, and to changes in the purpose of the
explosives used.
Wastewaters of the explosives industry are of concern both due to their pollutional
nature, and for certain wastes due to their hazardous character. For example, wastewaters
from nitroglycerin manufacture are often saturated with soluble nitroglycerin, which may
become concentrated and represent a potential explosive hazard. There is very limited
information in the published literature pertaining to the wastewaters of explosives
manufacture, or to pollution abatement technology applicable to control pollutant
discharge from the industry.
Thus, a program of wastewater characterization and treatment technology assessment
for the explosives industry is required. Due to the difference in products of commercial
versus military application, it is appropriate to consider them separately. This study focuses
upon commercial explosives manufacture and represents a preliminary assessment of the
products and pollution potential of commercial explosives manufacture, the extent of
pollution control utilized by that industry, and the data base available within the industry to
characterize its wastewaters and effectiveness of pollution control. Primary sources of
information included the published literature, discharge permit applications submitted to
the EPA by the subject industry at the time of this study, and plant visits to selected
manufacturing sites.
The plant visits included discussions with plant operating personnel, inspection of the
manufacturing and treatment facilities, and review of such data on wastewater character
and pollution abatement as were available from the plant. No independent sampling or
analyses were undertaken during the study, and data presented within this report were
derived only from the previously described sources. Due to the limited scope of the study,
relatively few plants could be visited. Selection of plants was based upon an attempt to visit
at least one plant manufacturing each explosives product, and two or more plants
producing major products such as dynamites. In total eleven plants, representing 40
process lines for intermediate and final explosives products, were visited.
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