Army Success Story: Ex‐Situ Biological Treatment of Perchlorate‐Contaminated Groundwater

Groundwater from the burning ground and landfill of the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant (LHAAP) in Texas is currently remediated by pumping the water from an interceptor collection trench system, removing volatile organic compounds and metals in an ex-situ treatment process, and discharging the treated water to a nearby stream. In early 2001, LHAAP's environmental restoration team supplemented the existing treatment process with an Envirogen biological fluid bed reactor (FBR) to remove the perchlorate prior to discharge. After a pilot test using site water at Envirogen's New Jersey laboratory, an FBR system designed to treat 50 gallons of groundwater per minute was installed. The FBR achieved complete perchlorate removal (< 4 ppb) within three weeks of start-up (February 2002). The FBR continues to remove perchlorate to less than 4 ppb. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.