Reactor scale-up for fluidized bed conversion of ethane to vinyl chloride

Novel LaOCl/LaCl₃ catalysts have been discovered that enable the production of vinyl chloride monomer from ethane. An ethane-based process would result in both capital savings and raw materials savings when compared to the current most effective vinyl technology. These materials are unique in the world of chlorination/oxychlorination as the mechanism for chlorination over LaOCl/LaCl₃ occurs on a catalyst without a redox metal center, unlike the conventional CuCl₂ catalysts used for oxychlorination, where the Cu species are reducible. This report focuses on the engineering approaches taken and the challenges encountered in the scale-up of a fluidized bed reactor based on this catalyst technology. The objective is to highlight the application of chemical reaction engineering principles to an industrial reactor scale-up, with special attention to the unexpected and atypical challenges encountered in this development effort.