Kinetics of degradation of water-soluble cellulose ethers under the action of persulfate

The kinetics of degradation of carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, and methyl cellulose under the action of ammonium persulfate is studied. The degradation rate depends on the concentrations of the polysaccharide and persulfate; the reaction order with respect to these reactants is close to -1 and 0.5, respectively. The apparent activation energy is 130 and 83 kJ mol(-1) for carboxymethyl cellulose and hydroxyethyl cellulose, respectively. A kinetic scheme of the process is suggested, and the equation for the degradation rate of the cellulose ethers is obtained. The ratios of the constants of some elementary reactions are determined.