Degradation of Polychlorobiphenyls with Potassium Carbonate in Supercritical Water

The degradation processes of 2,2ʹ,5,5ʹ-tetrachlorobiphenyl (4Cl-B) and 2,2ʹ,4,4ʹ,5,5ʹ-hexachlorobiphenyl (6Cl-B) with potassium carbonate in supercritical water at 500 °C were studied. Hydrocarbons containing methane as major component were formed in the yield of around 15%. The main reaction product is considered to be inorganic salts, which do not show any NMR spectra and are easily decomposed by dilute acid.