ABSTRACT
Chlorination is the process by which metal chlorides are obtained by dry methods. The process is applied to: ores and concentrates to isolate the metal values or convert them into a more amenable form, pure oxides to convert them to chlorides, since chlorides are easier to reduce to metals than the corresponding oxides and scrap metal for recovery. Chlorination is conducted in one of the following ways: chlorination without volatilization, chlorination with volatilization and segretation. Chlorinating agents may be gaseous, liquid, or solid. Gaseous reagents are: chlorine, hydrogen chloride, and phosgene. Elemental chlorine is the most common chlorinating agent. Sulfides are more readily chlorinated than oxides because the temperature is usually low and no reducing agent is required. Sulfur chlorides are formed at high temperature and at longer contact time of chlorine with the sulfide. Their formation is undesirable since this represents a loss of sulfur and chlorine. When chlorination involves volatilization, the volatilized chlorides are collected in condensers.
