POTASSIUM-PERMANGANATE CAN BE USED FOR DEGRADING HAZARDOUS COMPOUNDS

Solutions of potassium permanganate in 3 M sulfuric acid, 1 M sodium h ydroxide solution, and water can be used to degrade hazardous compound s. Excess oxidant can be removed by using sodium metabisulfite. Mangan ese, a carcinogen and mutagen, can be removed from the final reaction mixtures by making these mixtures strongly basic. Aqueous dilution cau ses the soluble potassium sulfate to dissolve while still allowing the insoluble manganese compounds to be removed by filtration and so redu ces the weight of precipitate. In all cases the amount of manganese le ft in she filtrates was less than 2 ppm and the reaction mixtures were nonmutagenic. When ethanol was used as a test compound, degradation w as much more rapid when the solvent was 3 M sulfuric acid or 1 M sodiu m hydroxide solution than when the solvent was water. However, the var iation of the rate of reaction with pH depends on the nature of the su bstrate. Thus the effectiveness of the various methods may vary for ot her substrates. Potassium permanganate in sulfuric acid was used to de grade four polycyclic heterocyclic hydrocarbons. Destruction was great er than 99.9% and the final reaction mixtures contained no more than 0 .5 ppm manganese and were not mutagenic. By modifying the work-up proc edures to remove manganese from the final reaction mixture, procedures previously developed for degrading hazardous compounds can still be e mployed.