Sulfonyl halide manufacture

Claim 1

A UNITARY PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A NON-TERTIARY SATURATED HYDROCARBON SULFONYL CHLORIDE, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES CONTACTING A NON-TERTIARY SATURATED HYDROCARBON DISULFIDE WITH CHLORINE AT A CHLORINOLYSIS REACTION TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT -40* C. AND ABOUT 20* C., EMPLOYING SUFFICIENT CHLORIDE TO EFFECT SUBSTANTIAL CHLORINOLYSIS OF SAID DISULFIDE BUT INSUFFICIENT TO EFFECT QUANTITATIVE CHLORINOLYSIS IN ORDER TO PRODUCE A CHLORINOLYSIS REACTION MIXTURE CONTAINING AT LEAST 5 PERCENT OF UNCONVERTED HYDROCARBON DISULFIDE, INITIATING OXIDATION BY SUBJECTING THE RESULTANT CRUDE CHLORINOLYSIS REACTION MIXTURE WITHOUT PURIFICATION TO CONTACT IN AN OXIDATION REACTION ZONE WITH AN OXIDANT GAS CONTAINING FREE OXYGEN AND ALSO NITROGEN DIOXIDE IN AN AMOUNT BETWEEN ABOUT 0.5 AND ABOUT 5 PARTS BY WEIGHT PER PART BY WEIGHT OF OXYGEN PRESENT IN SAID OXYGEN-CONTAINING GAS AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT -20* C. AND ABOUT 30* C. WHILE SUBSTANTIALLY EXCLUDING WATER FROM SAID OXIDATION REACTION ZONE AND, AFTER THE ONSET OF SUBSTANTIAL OXIDATION, REDUCING THE PROPORTION OF NO2 TO A VALUE BETWEEN ABOUT 0.05 AND ABOUT 0.5 PART BY WEIGHT PER PART BY WEIGHT OF OXYGEN IN SAID OXIDANT GAS AND CONTINUING THE OXIDATION.