Industrial Process for Manufacturing of Perfluoro (Methyl Vinyl Ether)(PFMVE) and of 2-Fluoro-1,2-Dichloro-Trifluoromethoxyethylene (FCTFE)

A process for the manufacture of PFMVE (perfluoro(methyl vinyl ether)) having the formula (I),

• characterized in that a trihalomethyl hypohalogenite of formula (III) and a trihaloethylene of formula (IV) are reacted with each other,
• CX3—O—X (III),
• wherein, in formula (III), X represents F (fluorine atom) or Cl (chlorine atom),
• wherein, in formula (IV), Y represents F (fluorine atom) or Cl (chlorine atom);
• and wherein the process comprises the steps of performing:
• (A) in a first step in a first reactor, with the proviso that if the trihaloethylene of formula (IV) is a gaseous starting material then the first reactor is not a loop reactor, preferably wherein the first reactor is a microreactor, an addition reaction, wherein the trihalomethyl hypohalogenite of formula (III) is added to the trihaloethylene of formula (IV) and the addition reaction is performed at a temperature in the range of about 0° C. to about 35° C. to form an addition product (A-P);
• and subsequently, with or without isolating the (liquid) addition product (A-P),
• (B) in a second step in said first reactor if the first reactor is a loop reactor, or in a second a reactor, which is a microreactor, in liquid phase an elimination reaction, wherein HY (hydrogen halogenide) is eliminated from the addition product (A-P) and the elimination reaction is performed at a temperature in the range of about 80° C. to about 120° C. to yield a trihalomethoxytrihaloethylene compound of formula (V),
• wherein in formula (V), X represents F (fluorine atom) or Cl (chlorine atom), Y represents F (fluorine atom) or Cl (chlorine atom);
• and with the provisos (i) and (ii) that
• (i) if X and Y are the same in each of the compounds of formulae (III) to (V), and each of X and Y represents F (fluorine atom), directly the compound of formula (I), PFMVE (perfluoro(methyl vinyl ether)), is obtained;
• and
• (ii) if X and Y are different from each other in that either X represents F (fluorine atom) and Y represents Cl (chlorine atom), or X represents Cl (chlorine atom) and Y represents F (fluorine atom),
• (C) then in a third reactor, preferably wherein the third reactor is microreactor, the trihalomethoxytrihaloethylene compound of formula (V) is subjected to a fluorination reaction in liquid phase, wherein the trihalomethoxytrihaloethylene compound of formula (V) is fluorinated with HF (hydrogen fluoride) in the presence of at least one Lewis acid catalyst, and at a temperature in the range of about 50° C. to about 100° C., in order to replace the Cl (chlorine atom) substituents contained in the compound of formula (V) by F (fluorine atom), by addition of HF and elimination of HCl (hydrogen chloride), and thereby to obtain the compound of formula (I), PFMVE (perfluoro(methyl vinyl ether)).