ABSTRACT
In chlorination processes, considerable quantities of hydrogen chloride are formed as a by-product. The ability to utilize this hydrogen chloride can have a marked effect on the economics of producing chlorinated solvents. This has led to the application of oxychlorination technology. The first effort to recover chlorine from hydrogen chloride was made using the Deacon reaction where hydrogen chloride and an oxidant in the form of either air or oxygen are passed over a copper chloride catalyst. This process has been commercialized but has not been applied on a wide-scale commercial basis. Of more significance has been the oxychlorination of ethylene utilizing the by-product hydrogen chloride to produce L2-dichloroethane from ethylene. The application of oxychlorination technology to the direct manufacture of chlorinated solvents has been slow in developing. At least one commercial unit is in operation producing perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene by oxychlorination. The discovery of more effective catalyst systems and the development of more basic technology in reaction mechanisms should lead to a greater application of oxychlorination in the chlorinated solvents industry.
