EDC OXYCHLORINATION Process

The preferred way of oxychlorination uses oxygen as an oxidizing agent. The catalyst bed is fluidized with circulating gas, the oxygen concentration is kept below the lower oxygen concentration (LOC) (O2-lean operation). The very small off-gas stream of inerts and carbon oxides which are formed in the process is fed to the HCl recycle unit. The reaction mixture consisting of C2H4, HCl and O2 is catalytically converted in the reactor to EDC in a highly exothermal reaction at a temperature of > 210 °C. The heat is dissipated via internal cooling coils and recovered to generate steam.

The advantages of the Vinnolit process can be summarized as follows:

· fluidized-bed reactor with excellent reaction heat distribution: no hot spots, no stickiness
· reliable equipment
· proven materials
· raw EDC purity: 99.5 %
· high conversion of C2H4 to EDC: 99.0 %
· high flexibility
· removal of catalyst fines by catalyst filtration or by simple waste water treatment
· high safety standard
· low catalyst consumption