QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF OXALATE BY

PERMANGANATE TITRATION
J.K.UY1 AND A.F.D. FIDELES2
1
DEPARTMENT OF MINING METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING, COLLEGE OF
ENGINEERING
2
DEPARTMENT OF FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION, COLLEGE OF HOME ECONOMICS
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, DILIMAN, QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES
DATE PERFORMED: OCTOBER 16, 2014
INSTRUCTORS NAME: MARIEL CLORES

DISCUSSION
What were the precautions taken in preparing the KMnO 4 solution?
When exposed to sunlight, permanganate decomposes to MnO 2 and O2
according to the following chemical equation:
2KMnO4 K2MnO4 + MnO2 + O2

Because of this, the lights in the classroom were turned off to minimize its
decomposition. Also, an amber volumetric flask was used to stop the light from
making contact to the solution. The solution was prepared on the day of the
experiment to reduce its decomposition. If the permanganate solution were to be
prepared beforehand, it is recommended that the solution be boiled before storage.
What is the significance of the blank titration?
The purpose of the blank titration is to correct the amount of titrant used.
This error may be caused by foreign compounds in the solutions used to dissolve
the standard.
What are the advantages of titration with a self-indicator?
A titration carried out with a self-indicator doesnt need an indicator (as the
name suggests) because the titrant itself manifests a physical change in color that
can indicate an endpoint. Because of this, a separate need not to be prepared.
Additionally, since most indicators are either basic or acidic, they can contribute
errors in pH while a titration with a self-indicator removes this possible source of
error.
What is the importance of boiling the KMnO 4 solution before it is stored for future
use?
Boiling the solution removes possible oxidizable reagents that come from the
water used to prepare the solution. These may contaminate the permanganate
solution over time since permanganate is a very strong oxidizing agent.
What is the purpose of heating the oxalate mixture before titration?
The reaction between oxalate and permanganate in room temperature is very
slow. Because of this, the solution was heated before hand to hasten the reaction

and avoid titration error. As seen in the experiment, even after heating the solution,
the first part of the reaction was still relatively slow.

What is the rationale behind using H2SO4 to acidify the analyte mixture instead of
HCl?
The permanganate can oxidize the chloride ions from HCl. This reaction will
make the permanganate ions less accessible to the oxalate and propagate an error
in titration since there is more than one reaction happening during the titration.
What are the possible sources of error?
During the titration proper, the burette may have been exposed to sunlight
decomposing the permanganate. This would result to a higher volume of titration
and in turn a higher %oxalate. Also, since the first part of the titration is slow, the
student may have moved on and used less titrant than actually needed.

Sources:
[1]
http://www.cider.org.uk/tanmeths.htm
[2]
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?Qid=20080723025702aauypbk