Production process of chlorine

A process for producing chlorine by reacting hydrogen chloride and oxygen in the presence of a catalyst, which contains a chromium oxide as a principal component thereof, in a fluidized-bed reactor, which comprises:

• (i) providing, as said reactor, a fluidized-bed reactor whose gas-contacting portions are each made of a material consisting essentially of nickel and having an iron content of 1 wt. % or less, said latter reactor having an equivalent diameter of at least 0.05 m;
• (ii) filling, as the catalyst, a chromium oxide catalyst, which has a mean particle size of 40-100 .mu.m and a maximum particle size of 200 .mu.m or smaller and contains at least 10 wt. % of particles having particle sizes of 40 .mu.m and smaller, in the thus-provided fluidized-bed reactor, said chromium oxide catalyst being filled in an amount of at least 0.1 m in terms of catalyst layer height in the thus-provided reactor when the chromium oxide catalyst is at rest;
• (iii) feeding a first feed gas as an oxygen source and a second feed gas as a hydrogen chloride source into the thus-provided reactor in such amounts that the molar ratio of oxygen in the first feed gas to hydrogen chloride in the second feed gas is at least 0.25 and the hydrogen chloride in the second feed gas is fed at a rate of 100-1800 Nl per hour and per kg of the chromium oxide catalyst filled in the thus-provided reactor;
• (iv) allowing the first and second feed gases to flow upwardly at a superficial velocity 0.1-1 m/sec through the thus-provided reactor;
• and
• (v) controlling the internal temperature and pressure of the thus-provided reactor at 350.degree.-450.degree. C. and at least normal pressure respectively.