| Abstract: | The effect of adding an electrolyte on the rate of the heterogeneous dilute acid hydrolysis of cellulose was studied using 1.3M hydrochloric acid containing varying amounts of sodium chloride up to 0.17M. A general increase in the rate of hydrolysis was observed. In particular, a linear relationship was observed between the rate of hydrolysis of the later portion of the hydrolysis curve and the concentration of added electrolyte, thus confirming that Donnan's theory of membrane equilibria can be applied to the heterogeneous hydrolysis of cellulose in dilute acid. A kinetic model, based on this theory and whose predictions are consistent with the above experimental results is presented. |
