Exothermic two-stage process for catalytic oxidation of hydrogen chloride

Abstract

A process of recovering chlorine from a stream of hydrogen chloride comprising the steps of exothermically reacting a stream of hydrogen chloride and oxygen with a fluidized bed of a carrier catalyst containing cupric oxide and cupric chloride in a reaction zone within a chlorinator reactor at temperatures between 150.degree. and 220.degree. C. to convert part of the cupric oxide to cupric chloride and cupric hydroxychloride, thereby essentially eliminating the hydrogen chloride to produce a product stream including chlorine, residual oxygen, inerts and water, which is removed from the chlorinator reactor; passing the resulting carrier catalyst containing cupric chloride, cupric hydroxychloride, and residual cupric oxide from the chlorinator reactor to the combination oxidation reactor to form a bed which is operated at temperatures between 300.degree. and 400.degree. C., wherein the combination oxidation reactor is supplied with a stream a hydrogen chloride and oxygen to fluidized the bed, and for exothermic reaction with cupric chloride and cupric hydroxychloride to produce cupric oxide which is returned to the chlorinator reactor; supplying the overhead stream of chlorine, unreacted hydrogen chloride, inerts and residual oxygen from the combination oxidation reactor to the chlorinator reactor to cause hydrogen chloride therein to react with the cupric oxide in the carrier catalyst at the operating temperature between 150.degree. and 220.degree. C.; the product stream from the chlorinator reactor being chlorine rich but substantially free of hydrogen chloride.