Cyclic ethylene oxyhydrochlorination process with reduced hydrocarbon emissions
AssigneeAllied Chemical Corporation
InventorsWayne S. Amato, Bhaskar Bandyopadhyay, Robert Herbert Fitch, Bruce Edward Kurtz
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Abstract
A cyclic process having reduced hydrocarbon emission is provided for oxyhydrochlorination of ethylene to produce ethylene dichloride employing substantially pure oxygen as feed to the oxyhydrochlorination unit and recycling a major portion of the residual gas stream from which ethylene dichloride has been recovered as condensate, wherein reactant feed rates are adjusted to maintain recycle gas stream composition within specified limits.
Claims7
In a process for producing ethylene dichloride by the oxyhydrochlorination of ethylene wherein (1) ethylene, hydrogen chloride and substantially pure oxygen are fed to a reaction zone containing a Deacon-type catalyst and reacted therein to form ethylene dichloride, (2) a product stream containing ethylene dichloride, water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and unreacted ethylene and oxygen is withdrawn from the reaction zone, and (3) ethylene dichloride and water are removed from the product stream and a major portion of the product stream is thereafter recycled to the reaction zone as a recycle stream, the improvement which comprises:
- monitoring the oxygen and ethylene content of the recycle stream and adjusting the feed rates of ethylene, hydrogen chloride and oxygen to the reaction zone so as to maintain in the recycle stream a concentration of ethylene within the range of from about 0.1 to 10% by volume, and a concentration of oxygen within the range of from about 0.1 to 10% by volume.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.