Oxychlorination Catalysis for Ethylene Production

Oxychlorination catalysis is the principal industrial route for converting ethylene and hydrogen chloride into ethylene dichloride (EDC), the immediate precursor to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) for polyvinyl chloride manufacture. This process uniquely closes the chlorine loop in petrochemical operations by consuming HCl released from steam cracking. Commercial catalysts typically comprise copper chloride species dispersed on aluminium oxide supports, with promoters such as potassium or lanthanum fine-tuning activity and stability. The reaction proceeds via a redox cycle in which copper alternates between Cu2+ and Cu+ states, integrating oxidation of ethylene and chlorination by HCl. Key performance metrics include catalytic activity, selectivity to EDC, resistance to HCl corrosion and lifetime under harsh conditions. Recent advances have focused on operando characterisation of dynamic copper sites, atomic-scale support engineering and co-promotion strategies to suppress byproduct formation, enhance selectivity often beyond 99 % and extend operational stability. Optimising oxychlorination catalysis carries global significance through reduced energy intensity and lower greenhouse-gas emissions in VCM production, and by enabling future integration of alternative feedstocks such as ethane. Continued mechanistic insights and rational catalyst design are poised to deliver further improvements in efficiency, sustainability and process intensification.

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Oxychlorination Catalysis for Ethylene Production publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in oxychlorination catalysis for ethylene production across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Oxychlorination: A catalytic reaction in which ethylene, oxygen and hydrogen chloride react to form dichloroethane, coupling oxidation and chlorination steps in a single process.

Ethylene dichloride (EDC): A chlorinated hydrocarbon product of ethylene oxychlorination, serving as the immediate precursor to vinyl chloride monomer.

Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM): A key intermediate for polyvinyl chloride production derived from thermal cracking or dehydrochlorination of EDC.

Single-atom catalyst (SAC): A heterogeneous catalyst in which isolated metal atoms are anchored on a support, maximising active site dispersion and selectivity.

Redox cycle: The reversible oxidation and reduction sequence undergone by copper species (Cu2+ ↔ Cu+) that drives ethylene oxychlorination.

References

1. Atomic Cu‐N‐P‐C Active Complex with Integrated Oxidation and Chlorination for Improved Ethylene Oxychlorination. Advanced Science (2023).
2. Toward Fully Selective Ethylene Oxychlorination through Engineering the Cu Oxidation State Spatial Profile. ACS Catalysis (2023).
3. Reaction Network and Byproduct Formation in Ethylene Oxychlorination on K‑Doped CuCl2/γ-Al2O3 Catalyst. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research (2024).