Reactions of alkaline metal carbonates with sulfur are investigated in detail. The evolution of CO and a trace of $SO_2$ were observed in the course of reaction with major component of polysulfides. Some evidences that the reaction proceeds with breaking of terminal sulfur-sulfur bond in the sulfur polymer, and forming CO, $SO_2$ and polysulfide are presented. Polysulfides have the role of keeping free sulfur and allow it to react with other chemicals to rather high temperatures.plexes, whereas the binuclear and mononuclear complexes of Mn$^{2+}$ and Co<TEX>$^{2+}$</TE. showed similar reactivities. The nature of the ligands bound to copper did not influence the reactivity of the binuclear copper complexes so long as copper ions were held in close proximity. A metal-iodosylbenzene complex, such as suggested previously for Lewis acidic metal complex-catalyzed epoxidat.n by iodosylbenzene, is proposed as the active epoxidizing species. Some mechanistic aspects are discussed as well.