Abstract
Selected emergent plants (helophytes) Phragmites australis, Juncus glaucus, Carex gracillis and Typha latifolia were successfully used for degradation of TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) under in vitro conditions. The plants took up and transformed more than 90% of TNT from the medium within ten days of cultivation.
The most efficient species was Ph. australis which took up 98% of TNT within ten days. The first stable degradation products 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene (4-ADNT) and 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene (2-ADNT) were identified and quantified.
TNT degradation products and their compartmentalization in plant tissues were evaluated after two weeks of cultivation using [C-14] TNT. Forty one percent of 14C was detected as insoluble or bound in cell structures: 34% in roots and 8% in the aerial parts.
The results were verified in pilot constructed wetland for cleaning explosive containing waste-waters as a necessary step prior real scale-up application