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Wednesday, November 7, 2007
326-17
Chemically-Catalyzed Uptake of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene by Vetiver Grass (Vetiveria Zizanioides L. ) in Soil.
Padmini Das, Konstantinos C. Makris, Dibyendu Sarkar, and Rupali Datta. Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249
2, 4, 6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a group C human carcinogen and a potential mutatoxin. Improper disposal of TNT-containing solid waste and wastewater generated during the production, burning, detonation, and dismantlement of munitions may lead to soil and groundwater contamination. Following army base closures, military land may be offered to the public, but residual soil TNT concentrations may prohibit change of land use to residential development, unless appropriate remedial measures are taken. Our previous hydroponic studies have shown the effectiveness of vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides L.) in removing TNT from aqueous solution in the presence of a chaotropic agent, such as, urea, a common nitrogen fertilizer. Chaotropic agents are specific anions (SCN- or polar carbamide derivatives), which modify water structure around aggregated proteins or sugars by increasing the solubility of their hydrophobic regions in aqueous environments. The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the effectiveness of vetiver grass in removing TNT from soil and (ii) evaluate the effect of urea in chemically-catalyzing TNT uptake by vetiver from soil. Vetiver grass was grown on acidic (pH 6.0) soil that was spiked with 40 and 80 mg TNT kg-1 soil, and fertilized with 0.1 % urea. Kinetics of TNT removal by vetiver grass grown on soil pots were monitored throughout the growing season for vetiver, by collecting leachate and soil samples that were analyzed for TNT and its degradation products with HPLC.