Published December 1970
This report presents design cases for the manufacture of chloroprene, a monomer used to produce the elastomer polychloroprene. Included are two routes using butadiene as a starting material, one route using 2-butene, and one using acetylene.
A fifth design case examines the possibility of converting the hydrogen chloride given off in the butene process to chlorene that in turn is recycled to a chlorination reactor. A last case evaluates costs resulting from the injection of inert hydrocarbon gases (to reduce explosion hazard) into equipment used in the acetylene route. Other routes to chloroprene are outlined in the last section of the report.
Technical information for the study was obtained primarily from patents and other publications. A brief history and the industry status are presented early in the report.
