Several oxidation processes were investigated to degrade residues of acetonitrile. Alternatives such as photolysis, degradation with hydrogen peroxide, Fenton and photo-Fenton processes were investigated. Among the options studied, photolysis proved to be the best choice. Photolysis promoted 100% degradation of 20% aqueous acetonitrile solutions in 30 hours. This method proved to be a cheap alternative to decompose toxic residues of acetonitrile, which tend to be accumulated in laboratories that use RP-HPLC equipments.
acetonitrile; oxidation process; degradation
