Phytoremediation technique can be used to clean up various contaminants viz. metals, pesticides, solvents, explosives, crude oil, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and landfill leachates. Phytoremediation is proving to be an attractive alternative to current energy intensive and very expensive cleanup methods. “Current engineeringbased technologies used to clean up soils—like the removal of contaminated topsoil for storage in landfills—are very costly and dramatically disturb the landscape”. Phytoremediation is a combination of technologies that use “plant-influenced biological, chemical, and physical processes that aid in the remediation of contaminated substrates”. It is a potential low-cost technology that is currently being investigated for many remediation applications. In this study greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to test the natural accumulation and phytoremediation potential of HMX (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine), as contaminant under simulated conditions. The amount of explosives present in the soil before and during phytoremediation was determined by using HPLC. The result of the study reveals that Jatropha curcas removed upto 87% of HMX in 270 days of study thus indicating that the plant can be successfully utilized for the treatment of explosive contaminated sites. Most of the HMX was translocated in the parent form to the shoot and leaves.
