Biodegradation of glycidol and glycidyl nitrate.
When calcium hydroxide is used to desensitize glycerol trinitrate (nitroglycerine)-containing waste streams, the epoxides glycidol and glycidyl nitrate are formed. The epoxide rings of both compounds are unstable to heat in aqueous solutions, and they open to form glycerol 1-mononitrate and presumably glycerol. These transformations were accelerated by microbial activity. Glycerol 1-mononitrate was slowly denitrated to form glycerol. Glycidol and glycidyl nitrate caused base-pair substitutions in the Ames test for mutagenicity, whereas glycerol 1-mononitrate tests were negative.
Kaplan
D L
DL
Environmental Protection Group, U.S. Army Natick Research and Development Laboratories, Natick, Massachusetts 01760.
Cornell
J H
JH
Kaplan
A M
AM