Oxidation of Cyanide Ion in Aqueous Alkaline Solution by Ozone

Abstract

Cyanide ion was oxidized in alkaline solution by bubbling a mixture of ozone and oxygen. At 25 C, the apparent initial rate of decomposition of cyanide changed according to the equation:
v=k[CN-]0.5 [O3]
An activation energy of 10.6kcal/mol was obtained for the oxidation of cyanide at pH 13.5from measurements of the reaction rates in the temperature range 10 - 30 C. The effect of Cu2+, Zn2+ and Sn2+ on the rate of decomposition of cyanide were studied and Cu2+ was revealed to accelerate the decomposition greatly.