ELECTROCHEMICAL OXIDATIVE DECOMPOSITION O F ALIPHATIC AMINO-ACIDS

A technological process for decomposing nitrogen-containing compounds that exist in watercourse or marsh is strongly required to be establis hed without delay to diminish the advanced eutrophy. In the present st udy, an electrochemical process to decompose aliphatic amino acids has been proposed in which amino acids are decomposed to CO2, NH3, acids and alcohols (not detected in the oxidation of glycine) in strongly al kaline solutions. Rate constant of oxidation of amino acids were evalu ated from the potentiostatic oxidation, and the highest value was 8.94 x 10(-3) min(-1) for glycine and the lowest one 4.13 x 10(-3) min(-1) for isoleucine. In the oxidation at a constant current of 1.15 mA cm(- 2), 1 mM glycine and arginine were almost completely decomposed within 60 min, but the electrolysis time longer than 120 min was necessary t o completely decompose isoleucine and leucine.