Thermodynamic Aspects for the Reaction of Polychlorinated Biphenyls with Sodium Metoxide in Ethanol and Dimethyl Sulfoxide Solution

The reaction of Sovol technical-grade mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls with sodium methoxide in dimethyl sulfoxide and ethanol medium has been studied for the first time by thermodynamic modeling. The addition of ethanol co-solvent to dimethyl sulfoxide has been found to result in the emergence of solvolysis process. The optimal conditions for nucleophilic substitution reaction have been found. Using these reactions, derivatives of polychlorinated biphenyls with decreased chlorine content have been synthesized. A high conversion of initial polychlorinated biphenyl congeners of Sovol mixture has been reached. The studied reaction can serve as a pretreatment stage for the destruction of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls by thermal methods.