Permanganate: Environmental Fate and Water/Soil Applications

Phil Vella – Carus Chemical Corporation
1.0  Environmental Fate
 

Permanganate (sodium or potassium) is a powerful oxidizing agent and a widely used chemical, with bactericidal and algicidal properties. It is used in the purification of drinking water and treatment of wastewater. It is also used for odor control, including deodorisation of discharges from paint factories, fish processing plants, and so on. Other uses include bleaching, metal cleaning, printed circuit board production and chemical synthesis. Potassium permanganate is not native in the Earth’s crust and is produced by thermal oxidation of manganese dioxide {MnO2 Mn(IV)} followed by electrolytic oxidation.  However, manganese (Mn) is a naturally occurring element that is found in rock, soil, and water. It is ubiquitous in the environment and comprises about 0.1% of the Earth’s crust (usually as pyrolusite e.g. MnO2).  

In most applications, the soluble permanganate ion {MnO4- Mn(VII)} is reduced to insoluble manganese dioxide.  For the most part, MnO2 formed from a permanganate reaction is inert, insoluble and chemically similar to the original MnO2 found naturally in the earth.