The use of amino compounds for binding 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene in water

Sites polluted with 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) constitute a worldwide problem. In this work, chemical reactions for binding TNT to amino-compounds are proposed as an initial step for developing new remediation techniques to clean-up groundwater and soils contaminated with TNT. Indeed, addition of aniline and an amino acid-like cysteine caused a decrease in free TNT of 86% and 68-100%, respectively. Using (13)C-NMR spectroscopy, it was shown that TNT chemically forms a Meisenheimer complex with cysteine and aniline in 1/1 (by vol.) H(2)O/d(6)-acetone. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. Al rights reserved.