Kinetics and Product Analysis of the Electrochemical Dehalogenation of Hexachlorobenzene

A method for establishing the kinetics and products of the electrochemical degradation of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is described. One plausible way of reducing HCB´s toxicity is through cathodic dehalogenation. The characterization of products formed during the electrochemical reduction and the reaction kinetics are both reported. Pentachlorobenzene (PCB), tetrachlorobenzene (TCB) and trichlorobenzene (TriCB) were identified among the degradation products by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection. The kinetics is analyzed under different electrolysis conditions.