title: Spectrophotometric analyses of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in water.
abstract: A simple and accurate spectrophotometric method for on-site analysis of royal demolition explosive (RDX) in water samples was developed based on the Berthelot reaction. The sensitivity and accuracy of an existing spectrophotometric method was improved by: replacing toxic chemicals with more stable and safer reagents; optimizing the reagent dose and reaction time; improving color stability; and eliminating the interference from inorganic nitrogen compounds in water samples. Cation and anion exchange resin cartridges were developed and used for sample pretreatment to eliminate the effect of ammonia and nitrate on RDX analyses. The detection limit of the method was determined to be 100 μg/L. The method was used successfully for analysis of RDX in untreated industrial wastewater samples. It can be used for on-site monitoring of RDX in wastewater for early detection of chemical spills and failure of wastewater treatment systems.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Systems, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA. Electronic address: scgalileo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Systems, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA.
authors.forename: Zhonghou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: US Army RDECOM-ARDEC, Picatinny, NJ 07806-5000, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Smolinski
authors.affiliation: US Army RDECOM-ARDEC, Picatinny, NJ 07806-5000, USA.
authors.forename: Per M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Arienti
authors.affiliation: US Army RDECOM-ARDEC, Picatinny, NJ 07806-5000, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Systems, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA. Electronic address: xmeng@stevens.edu.
authors.forename: Xiaoguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Meng
mesh_terms: D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000379:methods*; D014227:Triazines / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D014227:Triazines; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; C009160:cyclonite
keywords: Berthelot reaction; Exchange resins; RDX; Spectrophotometric method; Water