The Oxidation of Cane Sugar. 



229 



It was thought advisable to determine the influence, if any, 

 of both much largei^ and smaller quantities of acid, as the action 

 may possibly be considerably influenced thereby. 



The results obtained shewed that when no acid was present, 

 comparatively little action takes place, but as long as suflicient 

 acid is present to combine with the potassium of the reduced 

 KMnO^, only a slight effect is produced by even increasing the 

 acid sixty-fold. (See Experiments 2, 3 and 4 in Table III.). 



50ccs. 



Table III. 



N 

 -KMnO^ and loccs.^— - sugar were emi^loyed in every case. 



The efl^ect of a still higher temperature remained to be 

 investigated, and with this object experiments were undertaken 

 at the boiling point (101°C.). 



Table IV. clearly shows that wliile 24 atoms of oxygen to each 

 molecule of sugar had been abstracted from the solution in the 

 first 30 minutes, yet the secondary action had attained to such 

 importance that no less than 14% of the remaining KMnO^ was 

 reduced to MnOo in the following 30 minutes. 



Sufficient sulphuric acid was present to combine with the 

 potassium of all the KMn04 employed. 



