Process for the preparation of monochloroacetone

Abstract

There is disclosed an improved process for the preparation of monochloroacetone by reacting acetone and chlorine in a vapor-liquid phase reactor and passing the reactor effluent through a fractionator to remove the liquid phase consisting mainly of monochloroacetone (MCA). The fractionator vapor phase effluent is consisting of acetone, hydrogen chloride, some monochloroacetone, and some reaction by-products sequentially fractionated in a series of condensers of varying temperatures such that the hydrogen chloride is isolated free of impurities and the remaining reaction materials, consisting mainly of acetone with some dissolved hydrogen chloride are available for recycling back into the reactor. The hydrogen chloride, isolated in the vapor phase, may be quenched with water to produce concentrated aqueous hydrochloric acid which may be used in other chemical procedures or it may be compressed into anhydrous hydrogen chloride. The process improvement has the advantage of eliminating all environmentally hazardous wastes such that none of the material used in the reaction is discarded as was done in the past. In addition, the improved process considerably reduces the energy requirements therefor by eliminating a costly extractive distillation step. All of the reaction products are either recycled back into the monochloroacetone reactor or are separate chemical products usable in other chemical steps.