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J ELECTROCHEMICAL OXIDATION 274 J Electrochemical Oxidation TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION Electrochemical oxidations have been developed for many of organic chemical syntheses. The electrochemical cells used are based in general on designs that have been developed for the chlor-alkali industry or for Monsanto's acrylonitrile/adiponitrile process. Processes have been developed for carrying the oxidation to completion, with all of the carbon in the original hydrocarbon converted to CO2. The complete oxidation process appears to be best carried out by using a combination of electrolysis and chemical reaction. The mediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO) process was developed by AEA Technology (formerly the Atomic Energy Authority of Great Britain). An electrolysis cell is used to generate an active metal ion, Ag2+ in the MEO process. The metal ion is the active chemical agent; it may react directly with the organic material to be destroyed or it may first react with water to form hydroxyl radicals, which in turn oxidize the material. The electrolytic cells used have two compartments usually with a permeable membrane between; the cathode is in one compartment, the anode in the other. Highly engineered cells have been developed that, for example, incorporate a large electrode surface area and minimize electrical resistance heating losses. The use of silver as the mediating ion requires a cation selective membrane (see Eq. 1 for the electrode reactions). Cathode1: The Ag2+ ion is very reactive. Water can be dissociated and organic material reacted with oxygen from the water. The Ag2+ ion is reduced to Ag+. A typical hydrocarbon oxidation might appear as follows: 1 This is the preferred cathode reaction, but see below.
