• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.28-32
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• 2008

The photocatalytic treatment of water contaminated with 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) was explored in bench-scale experiments in batch mode using a Pyrex tube coated with a thin film of $TiO_2$ located inside a photoreactor. The reactor was aerated by purging it with compressed air before initiating the photocatalytic reaction. The rate of TNT degradation approximated first-order kinetics. The reaction rate constant decreased as the TNT concentration increased from 25 to 100 mg/L, while the first-order kinetics could be modeled using a Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The addition of the organic reductants methanol and EDTA significantly enhanced the rate of TNT degradation, with optimum results in the presence of 20% methanol by volume. EDTA increased the rate of TNT removal by enhancing the role of the reductants.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.69-74
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• 2012

This study investigated the TNT decomposition by the treatment of alkaline hydrolysis. To obtain this objecitive, spectrum shift characteristics, pH effect, kinetics, and product analysis were examined during the alkaline hydrolysis by means of hydroxide ions. At pH = 12, an aqueous solution of TNT was changed into yellow-brown coloring, in which its absorbances were newly increased in a range of wavelength 400-600 nm. From the kinetic data, pseudo-first-order rate constant in a excess of hydroxide ion, in contrast to TNT concentration, was $0.0022min^{-1}$, which means that the reaction rate between TNT and hydroxide ion can be very slow, and that 1,047 min is necessary to achieve a 90% reduction of the initial TNT. In products analyses, nitrite ions and formic acid were mainly produced by the alkaline hydrolysis, nitrate ions and oxalic acid as minor products were generated.

• Mycobiology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.17-20
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• 2009

White-rot fungus Irpex lacteus degraded TNT significantly in proportion to the culture time. After 48 h incubation, about 95% of TNT was degraded. Two reduced metabolites were identified as 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene (4-ADNT) and 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene (2-ADNT) which was further degraded.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.97-108
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• 1999

Reduction 2, 4, 6-trinitrotoluene by zero valent iron was studied in a batch reactor under anoxic conditions. Results showed that the removal of trinitrotoluene (TNT)followed a pseudo-first order reaction and the rate was linearly dependent on the available reactive surfau area of the zero valent iron surface area, resulting a rate constant of 0.0981min$^{1}m$$^{-2}m$. High concentrations of the final product, presumably triaminotoluene which needs to be treated by other means, accumulated in the solution. However , little amount of TAT was extracted from the metal surface by using acetonitrile or phosphate buffered water (pH 7.0). Other common major intermediate in biological TNT degradation, a group of aminodinitrotoluenes, was not detected in the solution. Therefore, it is postulated that the reduction of nitro group by $Fe^0$ occurs simultaneously in all three positions and a TNT reduction model by zero valent iron was suggested.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.102-106
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• 2003

The uptake of $^{14}C$-2, 4, 6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in hydroponics was studied using onion plants. Of the total TNT mass (5 $\mu\textrm{M}$ concentration), 75% was in the roots, 4.4% in the leaves, and 21% in the external solution at 2 days, The percent distribution in roots was lower with higher concentration in the external solution, but in leaves it was comparable at all concentrations (5-500 $\mu\textrm{M}$). Root concentration factor (RCF) in hydroponics was more than 85 in constant hydroponic experiment (CHE) at 5 $\mu\textrm{M}$ and 150 in non-constant hydroponic experiment (NHE) at 5 $\mu\textrm{M}$. The maximum RCF values in the hydroponic system were greater with lower solution concentration. Transpiration stream concentration factor (TSCF) values in the present study (NHE only: 0.31-0.56) were relatively similar to the values with predicted values (0.43-0.78), increasing with higher external TNT concentration. For phytotoxicity tested in hydroponics and wet paper method, 500 $\mu\textrm{M}$ was toxic to onion plant, 50 $\mu\textrm{M}$ was non-toxic for plant growth but limited the transpiration rate, and 5 $\mu\textrm{M}$ was non-toxic as control.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.67-73
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• 2002

The cellular responses of soil-borne bacterium, Pseudomonas sp. HK-6 to explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) were examined. Two stress shock proteins (SSPs), approximately 70-kDa DnaK and a 60-kDa GroEL were found in HK-6 cells in response to TNT. Analyses of SDS-PAGE and Western blot using anti-DnaK and GroEL revealed that SSPs were induced in HK-6 cells exposed to 0.5 M of TNT far 6-12 hrs. The maximum induction of proteins was achieved at 8-hr incubation point after HK-6 cells'exposure to TNT. Similar SSPs were found to be induced in HK-6 cells by heat shock (shift of temperature, from $30^{\circ}C$ to $42^{\circ}C$) or cold shock (shift of temperature,$30^{\circ}C$ to $4^{\circ}C$).2D-PAGE of soluble protein tractions from the culture of Pseudomonas sp. HX-6 exposed to TNT demonstrated that approximately 450 spots were observed on the silver stained gels ranging from pH 3 to pH 10. Among them, 12 spots significantly induced and expressed in response to TNT were selected and analyzed. Approximately 60-kDa protein, which was assumed highly expressed on the gel, was used for amino acid sequencing. N-terminal microsequencing with in-gel digestion showed that N-terminal sequence of the TNT-induced protein, <$^1XXAKDVKFGDSARKKML^17$, shared extensive similarity with $^1XXAKDVKFGDSARKKML^17$, N-terminal sequence of (P48216) GroEL of Pseudomonas putida.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.695-698
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• 2002

The biodegradation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) was performed on a laboratory scale using P. putida originally isolated from explosive-contaminated soil. One hundred mg/1 of TNT was completely degraded within 20 h under optimum conditions. Various supplemental energy sources (carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and surfactant) were tested, with the main objective of identifying an inexpensive source and enhancing the degradation rate for large-scale biodegradation. Based on the degradation rate, molasses was selected as a possible supplemental carbon source, along with NH$_4$Cl and Tween 80 as a nitrogen source and surfactant, respectively. The degradation rate increased about 3.3 fo1d when supplemental energy sources were added and the degradation rate constant increased from 0.068 h$\^$-1/ to 0.224 h$\^$-1/. These results appear to be promising in application of the process to TNT-contaminated soil applications.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.298-303
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• 2007

Several combinations of ozone based advanced oxidation processes were tested for the treatment of red water (RW) containing recalcitrant chemical pollutants produced from 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) manufacturing process. $O_3$, $UV/O_3$, $UV/O_3/H_2O_2$, $UV/O_3/H_2O_2/Fe^{2+}$ processes were tested for the treatment of RW. The order of organic and color removal efficiency was found to be : $O_3{\leq}UV/O_3$ < $UV/O_3/H_2O_2$ < $UV/O_3/H_2O_2/Fe^{2+}$. The optimum conditions for the removal of organic and color in the $UV/O_3/H_2O_2/Fe^{2+}$ process were 0.053 g/min of ozone flow rate, 10 mM of $H_2O_2$ concentration and 0.1 mM of $FeSO_4$ concentration. Organic and color removal efficiencies were 96 and 100 % respectively in the $UV/O_3/H_2O_2/Fe^{2+}$ process. tert-butyl alcohol (t-buOH) was used as the hydroxyl radical scavenger. Enhancement of hydroxyl radical production was achieved by the combination of ozone with several oxidants such as UV, $H_2O_2$, $Fe^{2+}$.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.247-253
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• 2002

The cellular responses of TNT-degrading bacterium, Stenotrophomonas sp. OK-5 to explosive 2,4,6-trini-trotoluene (TNT) as an environmental contaminant were examined. Survival of the strain OK-5 with time in the presence of different concentrations of TNT under sublethal conditions was monitored, and viable counts paralleled the production of the stress shock proteins in this bacterium. Total cellular fatty acids analysis showed that strain OK-5 produced or disappeared several different kinds of lipids when grown on TNT media than when grown on TSA. Under scanning electron microscope, the cells treated with 0.5 mM TNT for 12 hrs showed irregular rod shapes with wrinkled surfaces. Analyses of SDS-PAGE and Western blot using anti-DnaK and anti-GroEL revealed that several stress shock proteins including 70 kDa DnaK and 60 kDa GroEL in strain OK-5 were newly synthesized at different TNT concentrations in exponentially growing cultures. 2-D PAGE of soluble protein fractions from the culture of OK-5 exposed to TNT demonstrated that approximately 300 spots were observed on the silver stained gel ranging from pH 3 to pH 10. Among them, 10 spots significantly induced and expressed in response to TNT were selected and analyzed. As the result of internal amino acid sequencing with ESI-Q TOF, two proteins, spot #1 and spot #10 were assigned the DnaK protein XF2340 of Xylella fastidiosa and stress-induced protein of Mesorhizobium loti, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of a gamma irradiation to decompose 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene(TNT) in an aqueous solution. The decomposition reaction of TNT by gamma irradiation was a pseudo first-order kinetic over the applied initial concentrations($25{\sim}100mg/L$). The dose constant was strongly dependent on the initial TNT concentration. The removal of TNT was more efficient at pH below 3 and at pH above 11 than at neutral pH(pH 5-9). The required irradiation dose to remove over 99% of TNT was 40, 80 and 10 kGy, individually at pH 2, 7 and 13. The dose constant was increased by 1.6 fold and over 15.6 fold at pH 2 and 13, respectively, when compared with that at pH 7 When irradiation dose of 200 kGy was applied, the removal efficiencies of TOC were 91, 46 and 53% at pH 2, 7 and 13, respectively. Ammonia and nitrate were detected as the main nitrogen byproducts of TNT and glyoxalic acid and oxalic acid were detected as organic byproducts. The results showed that a gamma irradiation was an attractive method for the decomposition of TNT in an aqueous solution. However, regarding the application of high energy radiation for the TNT decomposition and mineralization, an application of an acidic pH below 3 to the solution before irradiation should be considered.