HPLC-MSn to investigate the oxidative destruction pathway of aromatic sulfonate wastes.

The article concerns the problem of destruction and remediation of industrial wastes containing aromatic sulfonates. The effects of an oxidation process induced by thermally activated persulfate in the degradation of 1,5-naphthalenedisulfonate (NDS) are investigated by the use of UV-Vis spectrophotometry, high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and HPLC-MS(n) techniques. The results obtained indicated that thermal activation (80 degrees C) of a solution containing NDS and sodium persulfate in a molar ratio equal to 1 leads to the cleavage of the naphthalene structure. Estimated chemical oxygen demand (COD) indicates that when the excess of persulfate is equal to 100, NDS undergoes a mineralization of the order of 90%. A degradation pathway undergone by NDS when thermally activated in the presence of persulfate is proposed.