Preparation of chlorinated derivatives of ethylene

Abstract

Abstract 1,213,402. Chlorinated ethylenes. BRITISH PETROLEUM CO. Ltd. 13 Feb., 1969 [19 Feb., 1968], No. 7977/68. Heading C2C. Vinyl chloride is produced in a single-step process in which ethylene is contacted with a melt containing both cuprous and cupric chloride so that the cupric chloride is reduced to cuprous chloride which is reoxidized by treatment with hydrogen chloride and oxygen and/or chlorine, the process being carried out in a single reactor with (a) ethylene and (b) hydrogen chloride and/or oxygen being fed to two zones within the reactor. The melt optionally also contains an alkali metal chloride, zinc chloride, lead chloride, cadmium chloride, a rare earth metal chloride or a mixture thereof. Other chlorinated hydrocarbons, e.g. ethyl chloride, 1,2 - dichloroethane, 1,1,2 - trichloroethane, dichloroethylenes, trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, may be produced as by-products and may be recycled to the reactor. In a modification of the process, perchloroethylene may be obtained by operating under conditions such that inter alia perchlorethylene and vinyl chloride are produced, separating and recovering the former by fractional distillation and recycling the latter together with other chlorinated hydrocarbon by-products.

Inventors

• 👤 Gerhard Heinrich Ludwig

Bibliographic Details