CATALYTIC DEHYDROHALOGENATION PROCESS

摘要

The invention is an improved process for the manufacture of vinyl chloride from ethylene dichloride. Specifically, the invention is an improved process for the catalyzed dehydrohalogenation of ethylene dichloride in the presence of oxygen and a catalyst comprising a rare earth metal chloride on a zeolite. The process enables one to conduct the dehydrohalogenation (or cracking) operation at significantly lower temperatures than employed using a thermal process, without the coking problems observed in such cracking processes.