Corrin mediated degradation of organic nitrogen compounds
AssigneeThe Public Health Laboratory Service Board in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
InventorsTrevor S. Marks, Andrew Maule
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Abstract
A method of degrading an organic nitrogen compound to its reduction products, in which the compound is caused to react with a reducing agent in the presence of a complex of a corrin containing a metal-centered ring system. Preferred complexes are cobalt-centered hydrolysis products of Vitamin B12, such as cobyrinic acid, and in one embodiment these complexes are immobilised on a substrate. Using the method environmental pollutants such as nitrobenzenes may be rapidly reduced.
Claims15
A method of chemically reducing an organic nitrogen compound wherein the compound is reacted in an aqueous medium with a reducing agent in the presence of a complex of a corrin containing a metal-centered ring system of the formula:
- ##STR14## in which R.sup.1 is selected from NH.sub.2 and OH;
- R.sup.2 is selected from H, CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 COOH and CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CONH.sub.2 ;
- R.sup.3 is selected from H, CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 COOH and CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CONH.sub.2 ;
- and R.sup.4 is selected from NHCH.sub.2 CH(OH)CH.sub.3, OH and NH.sub.2 or the ring is that of cyanocobalamin;
- M is an ion or atom of a metal selected from group 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 of the periodic table, A and B are the same or different co-ordinating ligands, and a and b are independently 0 or 1.
A process for treating water or solids contaminated with at least one nitro- or nitroso-substituted compound comprising:
- reducing said at least one nitro- or nitroso- substituted compound in an aqueous medium in the presence of an effective catalytic amount of at least one of a corrin- or porphyrin metal complex.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.