Iranian Company Makes Oxychlorination Nanocatalysts
The nanotechnology company has succeeded in acquiring the technical know-how of manufacturing and producing all types of heterogeneous nanocatalysts and making the basis of alumina nanocatalysts in alpha and gamma phases.
The oxychlorination nanocatalysts produced by the company are used in EDC production reactors of petrochemical industries to convert ethylene to ethylene dichloride and prepare polyvinyl chloride or PVC primary feed.
This category of advanced Iranian nanocatalysts is made based on the needs of industries and with the aim of independence in production of strategic and essential nanomaterials for industries in the country, and they reduce the time and increase the speed of chemical reactions.
These nanoproducts have good structural quality and thermal stability due to high specific surface area, high porosity with pore diameter between 2nm to 50nm and suitable distribution of pore sizes, and their use has improved the quality of refinery products.
In chemistry, oxychlorination is a process for generating the equivalent of chlorine gas (Cl2) from hydrogen chloride and oxygen. This process is attractive industrially because hydrogen chloride is less expensive than chlorine.
The reaction is usually initiated by copper(II) chloride (CuCl2), which is the most common catalyst in the production of 1,2-dichloroethane. In some cases, CuCl2 is supported on silica in presence of KCl, LaCl3, or AlCl3 as cocatalysts. Aside from silica, a variety of supports have also been used including various types of alumina, diatomaceous earth, or pumice. Because this reaction is highly exothermic (238 kJ/mol), the temperature is monitored, to guard against thermal degradation of the catalyst.
