Suppressed oxygen evolution during chlorateformation from hypochlorite in the presenceof chromium(VI)

• BACKGROUND: Chromium(VI) is a crucial electrolyte component in industrial chlorate production. Due to its toxicity, iturgently needs to be abandoned and its functions fulfilled by new solutions. In the industrial production of sodium chlorate,homogeneous decomposition of the hypochlorite intermediate to chlorate is a key step. As a competing loss reaction,hypochlorite can decompose to oxygen. How chromium(VI) affects these reactions is not well understood.RESULTS: This work shows, for the first time, that chromium(VI) selectively accelerates the chlorate formation from hypochloriteboth in dilute and concentrated, industrially relevant solutions. The effect of the ionic strength and the specific contributionof different electrolyte components were systematically studied. By simultaneously measuring the concentration decayof hypochlorite (UV–vis spectroscopy) and the oxygen formation (mass spectrometry), both the rate and the selectivity of thereactions were evaluated.CONCLUSION: In the presence of chromium(VI) the hypochlorite decomposition is described by the sum of an uncatalyzedand a parallel catalyzed reaction, where oxygen only forms in the uncatalyzed reaction. When removing chromium(VI),the homogeneous oxygen formation increases, causing economic and safety concerns. The need for a catalyst selectivefor chlorate formation is emphasized.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Kemiteknik -- Annan kemiteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Chemical Engineering -- Other Chemical Engineering (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Kemiteknik -- Kemiska processer (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Chemical Engineering -- Chemical Process Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

sodium chlorate; chemical engineering; industrial electrochemistry; sodium dichromate; hypochlorite decomposition; selective catalysis

Chemical Engineering

Kemiteknik

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