OXY Reactor for EDC

Ethylene dichloride (EDC) is used to manufacture vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), which is one of the largest commodity chemicals produced in the world. EDC may be produced by the direct chlorination of ethylene or oxychlorination of ethylene in the presence of oxygen and hydrogen chloride. Pyrolysis of EDC produces VCM and an equal amount of hydrogen chloride as a co-product. This hydrogen chloride produced in the pyrolysis reactor is utilized by the oxychlorination process as one of the reactants. Therefore, the component processes of direct chlorination, EDC pyrolysis and oxychlorination are combined to develop a balanced process for the production of VCM with no net consumption or production of hydrogen chloride  

The development of oxychlorination technology in the late 1950s encouraged new growth in the vinyl chloride industry. Here, we will be considering an oxychlorination (OXY) reactor to illustrate the application of computational flow modeling to reactor engineering. 

FIGURE 9.6 Schematic diagram of OXY reactor (from Ranade, 1999b). 

Cylindrical pipe with dish end and bottom orifice 

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