Environmental Fate and Biodegradation of Energetic Compounds

The release of energetic compounds—including nitroaromatic explosives, cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine (HMX) and novel insensitive munitions ingredients—into soil and water poses significant risks to ecosystems and human health. Once introduced, these xenobiotic contaminants undergo a complex network of physical, chemical and biological processes. In surface waters and sunlit soils, photolysis can transform parent explosives into nitrite, nitrate and ammonium, while hydrolysis and advanced oxidation treatments offer engineered pathways to mineralise persistent residues. In subsurface environments, indigenous microbial communities mediate reductive and oxidative reactions, often initiating transformation through specialised enzymes. However, recalcitrant intermediates may accumulate, leading to chronic toxicity in plants and invertebrates. Phytoremediation strategies exploit plant uptake and rhizosphere‐enhanced biodegradation, yet uneven transport to aerial tissues can extend exposure to herbivores. A global imperative now drives integration of mechanistic fate studies with scalable remediation technologies, emphasising the need to understand degradation kinetics, metabolite toxicity and ecological resilience across diverse soils and climatic regimes.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have examined the environmental behaviour and chronic phytotoxicity of insensitive munition replacements. Work with 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN) in model plants revealed that only limited detoxification occurs via monodehydroascorbate reductase, allowing DNAN to accumulate in leaves and aerial tissues. This persistence prolongs exposure to herbivores and may propagate toxic metabolites through food webs. The research highlights that, despite lower acute hazard compared with traditional explosives, novel energetics can exhibit sustained biological activity under real‐world conditions. Insights into enzymatic reduction pathways offer targets for genetic or microbial enhancement of degradation efficiency in contaminated sites.

Environmental Fate and Biodegradation of Energetic Compounds publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in environmental fate and biodegradation of energetic compounds across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Xenobiotic contaminant: A chemical compound foreign to an ecosystem, often resistant to natural degradation.

Photolysis: Decomposition of compounds by absorption of light, yielding radicals and secondary products.

Monodehydroascorbate reductase: An enzyme that catalyses reduction of radical intermediates in plant antioxidant cycles, implicated in DNAN transformation.

Insensitive munitions: Explosive formulations designed to withstand unplanned stimuli, reducing accidental detonation but often altering environmental behaviour.

Total organic carbon (TOC): A measure of all carbon bound in organic compounds, used to assess the extent of mineralisation in remediation processes.

References

1. New weapons explosive exhibits persistent toxicity in plants. Nature Plants (2024).
2. Distribution and Fate of Military Explosives and Propellants in Soil: A Review. Applied and Environmental Soil Science (2012).
3. Advanced Oxidation Process for DNAN Using UV/H2O2. Engineering (2019).
4. Photolysis of 3‑Nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one: Mechanisms and Products. ACS ES&T Water (2023).
5. Evaluating the effect of insensitive high explosive residues on soil using an environmental quality index (EQI) approach. The Science of The Total Environment (2023).