chemistry

Oxychlorination

Oxychlorination is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Oxychlorination rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Oxychlorination belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Oxychlorination to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Oxychlorination from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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.

Mechanism 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. The reaction is as follows:

CH2=CH2 + 2 CuCl2 → 2 CuCl + ClH2C-CH2Cl The copper(II) chloride is regenerated by sequential reactions of the cuprous chloride with oxygen and then hydrogen chloride:

½ O2 + 2 CuCl → CuOCuCl2 2 HCl + CuOCuCl2 → 2 CuCl2 + H2O

Applications Oxychlorination is employed in the conversion of ethylene into vinyl chloride. In the first step in this process, ethylene undergoes oxychlorination to give ethylene chloride:

CH2=CH2 + 2 HCl + ½ O2 → ClCH2CH2Cl + H2O Oxychlorination is of special importance in the making of 1,2-dichloroethane, which is then converted into vinyl chloride. As can be seen in the following reaction, 1,2-dichloroethane is cracked:

ClCH2CH2Cl → CH2=CHCl + HCl The HCl from this cracking process is recycled by oxychlorination in order to reduce the consumption of raw material HCl (or Cl2, if direct chlorination of ethylene is chosen as main way to produce 1,2-dichloroethane). Iron(III) chloride is produced commercially by oxychlorination (and other methods). For example, dissolution of iron ores in hydrochloric acid gives a mixture of ferrous and ferric chlorides:

Fe3O4 + 8 HCl → FeCl2 + 2 FeCl3 + 4 H2O The iron(II) chloride is converted to the iron(III) derivative by treatment with oxygen and hydrochloric acid:

4 FeCl2 + O2 + 4 HCl → 4 FeCl3 + 2 H2O

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Oxychlorination

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Oxychlorination claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Oxychlorination before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Oxychlorination ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Oxychlorination

In research: Oxychlorination appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Oxychlorination in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Oxychlorination is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Halogens, Inorganic reactions, Organic reactions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Oxychlorination outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Oxychlorination in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Oxychlorination means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Oxychlorination out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Oxychlorination in simple terms?

Why does Oxychlorination matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Oxychlorination?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Oxychlorination.