Abstract
Oxidative decomposition of cellulose nitrate was brought about by simple wet‐ashing in a beaker with nitric acid and the digest‐residue was further oxidised with 30% hydrogen peroxide, followed by evaporation to dryness. Interferences arising from use of hydrogen peroxide were later avoided by digesting with nitric acid and Evaporation to dryness. Complete oxidation was achieved in approximately one hour. The digests allow rapid sulphate determination by the lead nitrate‐dithizone titration method. The method was greatly successful for analyzing both the unstabilized cellulose nitrates and those carefully stabilized materials.