Characterization of super(15)N-TNT residues after an anaerobic/aerobic treatment of soil/molasses mixtures by solid-state super(15)N NMR spectroscopy. 2. Systematic investigation of whole soil and different humic fractions

An anaerobic/aerobic composting experiment with super(15)N-2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) spiked soil was performed to investigate the fate of the explosive under the applied conditions. For a qualitative description of TNT-residues formed during the composting process, bulk soil and different soil fractions were subjected to solid-state super(15)N NMR spectroscopy. Major resonance signals could be detected in the chemical shift regions of five-ring heterocyclic nitrogen and in the area of aniline derivatives and primary amines. Distinct nitro peaks were found in the bulk samples and in the humic fractions obtained with a mild extraction procedure. This signal disappeared in the material extracted with a more drastic procedure. Quantitative investigations of the super(15)N distribution in the composted material revealed that 33% of the stable nitrogen isotope was incorporated into the humic- and fulvic acid, and 23% was present in the humin. Furthermore 38.8% of the super(15)N present in the composted material could be allotted to condensed TNT residues, whereas 1.9% are assigned to nitro functions and 15.2% to amino functions. In the investigation presented here a bioremediation method was simulated with super(15)N-TNT spiked soil. The nonradioactive label allowed a qualitative and quantitative characterization of residues of the explosive. Our results give strong evidence for a stable incorporation of the nitroaromatics into the humic material of soils. However, further investigations will be necessary to prove a long-time stability of bound TNT residues and to assess toxicological effects of the treated soil.