The report gives results of a study of organic acid degradation conjugated with sulfite oxidation under flue gas desulfurization (FGD) conditions. The oxidative degradation constant, k12, is defined as the ratio of organic acid degradation rate and sulfite oxidation rate times the ratio of the concentrations of dissolved S(IV) and organic acid. It is not significantly affected by pH or dissolved oxygen in the absence of Mn or Fe. However, k12 is increased by certain transition metals such as Fe, Co, and Ni, and is decreased by Mn and halides. Lower dissolved S(IV) magnifies these effects. A free radical mechanism was proposed to describe the kinetics. Hydroxy and sulfonated carboxylic acids degrade approximately three times slower than saturated dicarboxylic acids; while maleic acid, an unsaturated dicarboxylic acid, degraded an order of magnitude faster. A wide spectrum of degradation products of adipic acid were found, including carbon dioxide (the major product), smaller dicarboxylic acids, monocarboxylic acids, other carbonyl compounds, and hydrocarbons.

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