| Abstract: | The oxidation of ethanol as a model of the alcohols produced in the hydrolysis of nitrate esters, by nitric acid in aqueous sulphuric acid solutions has been studied with the aim to obtain information on the decomposition reaction of “spent acids”. The results show, in agreement with previous suggestions from this laboratory, that ethanol is firstly oxidized to acetaldehyde via a reaction initiated by nitric acid but carried on by NO2 radical. The latter is formed by the interaction of nitric and nitrous acids. The acetaldehyde is then oxidized by two independent paths leading one to acetic acid and the other to oxalic acid and eventually to CO2. The relevance of these findings on the understanding and on the control of „spent acids”︁ is briefly discussed. |
