title: Dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls using magnesium and acidified alcohols.
abstract: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were widely used in industry until their regulation in the 1970s. However, due to their inherent stability, they are still a widespread environmental contaminant. A novel method of degradation of PCBs (via hydrodehalogenation) has been observed using magnesium powder, a carboxylic acid, and alcohol solvents and is described in this paper. The rates of degradation were determined while varying the type of acid (formic, acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, benzoic, ascorbic, and phosphoric), the amount of magnesium from 0.05 to 0.25 g, the amount of acetic acid from 0.5 to 50 μL and the concentration of PCB-151 from 0.1 to 50 μg/mL, as well as the alcohol solvent (methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, octanol, and decanol). The results of these studies indicate that the most rapid PCB dechlorination is achieved using a matrix consisting of at least 0.02 g Mg/mL ethanol, and 10 μL acetic acid/mL ethanol in which case 50 ng/μL of PCB-151 is dechlorinated in approximately 40 min.
authors.affiliation: University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando, FL 32816, United States.
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maloney
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Devor
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Novaes-Card
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Saitta
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Christian A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Clausen
authors.forename: Cherie L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Geiger
mesh_terms: D000438:Alcohols / Q000737:chemistry*; D002713:Chlorine / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008274:Magnesium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000438:Alcohols; D002713:Chlorine; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D008274:Magnesium