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The Decomposition of Oxalic Acid in Nitric Acid

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Abstract

The rate of decomposition of oxalic acid in strong nitric acid solutions increases with increasing acidity and temperature with the rate of reaction following pseudo-first-order kinetics with respect to oxalic acid. The order of nitric acid on the overall reaction has been shown to be 2.7, although this result should be treated with some caution due to scatter in the results at different temperatures. The activation energy was determined to be 116 ± 7 kJ·mol−1.

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Acknowledgments

This paper is based on original work commissioned by Sellafield Ltd. with additional funding from The European Union FP7 Project SACSESS (Project Number 323282). NNL’s Strategic Research Programme, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Ltd., and the Department of Energy and Climate Change are acknowledged for additional support.

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Author notes

  1. D. Morris

    Present address: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Herdus House, Westlakes Science and Technology Park, Moor Row, CA24 3HU, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Nuclear Laboratory, Central Laboratory, Sellafield, Seascale, CA20 1PG, UK

    C. Mason, T. L. Brown, D. Buchanan, C. J. Maher, D. Morris & R. J. Taylor

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  1. C. Mason
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  2. T. L. Brown
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  3. D. Buchanan
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Correspondence to R. J. Taylor.

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Mason, C., Brown, T.L., Buchanan, D. et al. The Decomposition of Oxalic Acid in Nitric Acid. J Solution Chem 45, 325–333 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10953-016-0437-2

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