Pergamon Chemosphere, Vol. 36, No. 8, pp. 1849-1865, 1998 Q 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain PII: SOW-6535(97)10073-X 0045-6535198 $19.00+0.00 NITROTOLUENE DESTRUCTION BY UV-CATALYZED FENTON OXIDATION Z. M. Li, P. J. Shea,* and S. D. Comfort School of Natural Resource Sciences Univ. ofNebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0758 Email: agro056@unlvm.unl.edu (Received in USA 21 July 1997; accepted 15 September 1997) ABSTRACT The capacity of W-catalyzed Fenton oxidation to destroy mono-, di- and trinitrotoluenes (MNT, DNT, TNT) in aqueous solution was evaluated. Mononitrotoluenes were rapidly destroyed by Fenton oxidation in the dark at pH 3.0 or by W/Fenton oxidation without pH adjustment. W/Fenton oxidation at pH 3 .Owas most effective for DNT and TNT destruction. The number and position of nitro substitutions influenced oxidation rate: 2nitrotoluene > 4nitrotoluene > 2,4-dinitrotoluene > 2,6-dinitrotoluene > 2,4,6&ritrotoluene. W/Fenton oxidation mineralized more than 95% of the TNT in aqueous extracts of contaminated soil. While dissolved humic and fblvic acids di&erentiallyintluenced destruction rate, total TNT destroyed after 4 h was not greatly affected. Our results demonstrated that W-catalyzed Fenton oxidation effectively destroyed nitrotoluenes in water and aqueous extracts of contaminated soil. Q1998 Elsevier Science Ltd Key Words: nitrotoluene, Fenton oxidation, remediation, dissolved organic matter, ultraviolet light INTRODUCTION Nitroaromatic compounds are associated with many industrial chemical processes and are of particular importance in explosives production. More than 30 nitroaromatic compounds may be produced during manufacture of trinitrotoluene (TNT) and dinitrotoluene @NT) [ 11. DNT is also produced as a propellant additive and used in dye production [2]. These chemicals can become environmental contaminants during industrial operations and wastewater discharge. Several nitroaromatic compounds and some of their transformation products have been found in surface water, soil, sediment, and groundwater near munitions and other chemical plants [3,4]. Some of these compounds are mutagenic [5, 61, carcinogenic, or otherwise toxic to aquatic and terrestrial organisms [7-lo]. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), involving generation of highly reactive intermediates, especially hydroxyl radicals, have shown promise for remediating wastewater containing nitroaromatic compounds [ 11, 1849