Decomposition of Carboxylic Acids in Water by O3, O3/H2O2, and O3/Catalyst

This paper studies the decomposition of formic, oxalic and maleic acids by O₃, O₃/catalyst, and O₃/H₂O₂. The catalytic effect of Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Mn²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cr³⁺, and Fe²⁺ ions is investigated. The results showed that—Co²⁺ and Mn²⁺ have the highest catalytic activity for the decomposition of oxalic acid while the catalytic effect of the studied ions is insignificant on the rate of decomposition of formic acid. Maleic acid decomposes by ozone into formic acid and glyoxylic acid, which subsequently oxidizes to oxalic acid. Though the studied ions have no effect on the decomposition of maleic acid, they have a significant effect on the produced oxalic and glyoxylic acids. In the presence of Cu²⁺ ions glyoxylic acid is mainly transformed into formic acid and traces of oxalic acid. In such case, a complete decomposition of maleic acid and its degradation products is achieved within 45 min. The results also show that combining H₂O₂ with O₃ results in an increase in the rate of decomposition of oxalic acid. However, O₃/H₂O₂ system is less active than O₃/Co²⁺ or O₃/Mn²⁺.