Treatment of trinitrotoluene by crude plant extracts.
Crude plant extract solutions (spinach and parrotfeather) were prepared and spiked with 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) (20 mgl(-1)). 90-h TNT removal by these solutions was compared to controls. Spinach and parrotfeather extract solutions removed 99% and 50% of the initial TNT, respectively; TNT was not eliminated in the controls or in extract solutions where removal activity was deactivated by boiling. A first-order removal constant of 0.052 h(-1) was estimated for spinach extract solutions treating 20 mgl(-1) TNT concentrations, which compared favorably to intact plant removal. Concentration variation was described by Michaelis-Menton kinetics. Detectable TNT degradation products represented only a fraction of the total TNT transformed, and the transformation favored the formation of 4-aminodinitrotoluene. The results indicated that crude plant extracts transform TNT, without the presence of the live plant.
Medina
Victor F
VF
Environmental Engineering Branch, EP-E, Environmental Laboratory, ERDC, US Army Corps of Engineers, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180, USA. victor.f.medina@erdc.usace.army.mil
Larson
Steven L
SL
Agwaramgbo
Lovell
L
Perez
Waleska
W
Escalon
Lynn
L
D001711:Biotransformation; D007700:Kinetics; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000378:metabolism*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000378:metabolism; D018724:Spinacia oleracea / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D014303:Trinitrotoluene / Q000378:metabolism*
D010936:Plant Extracts; D014303:Trinitrotoluene