The U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Lab discovered that
nitroreductase enzymes found in spinach can eat, digest, and transform explosives such as TNT. Called “Environmentally Benign Digestion Process,” this biotechnology reduces dangerous explosives to low toxicity byproducts that, in turn, can be reduced to carbon dioxide and water.
The U.S. military plans to use it as a substitute for burning and incinerating, currently the favored method of eliminating 500,000 tons annually of explosives stockpiled around the country. It is more cost effective than existing methods because no special equipment is required. The process is mobile and thus eliminates the high cost of transporting explosives to incinerators. EBDP is also energy efficient because it is done at room temperature. The enzymes are mixed in a solution with other bio-derived chemicals, such as lactic acid and ethanol, which activate the enzymes that neutralize the explosive powder/chemical mix.
The enzyme industry is worth $1.3 billion and the market is growing by 10-15 percent each year. Enzymes are now commonly used by the detergent industry for cleaning, the beverage industry for making glucose and the textile industry for stonewashing denim.
Manish Shah, PNNL: manish.shah@pnl.gov
FROM The Carbohydrate Economy
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