Title: Process for drying water-wet methyl chloride

Abstract: A process for recovering substantially dry methyl chloride from a stream of wet methyl chloride by distilling the wet methyl chloride in the presence of at least 10 molar % hydrogen chloride based on the hydrogen chloride, methyl chloride and water being distilled. The distillation is carried out under super atmospheric pressure and a temperature to produce an aqueous hydrochloric acid of less than 36 wt %, and preferably under such super atmospheric pressure and sufficient temperature to produce an azeotropic hydrochloric acid containing a low concentration of hydrogen chloride. Increasing pressures allows increasing temperatures in the bottoms which form azeotropes of lower concentration hydrochloric acid. The resulting overhead of such a distillation, methyl chloride-hydrogen chloride, will contain less than about 400 molar ppm water. When the distillation is carried out in the presence of about 12 to 25 molar % hydrogen chloride, the overhead will contain between about 100 to 400 molar ppm water.

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Inventors: Steele, John M. (Lake Jackson, TX, US)
Nino, Guillermo J. (Houston, TX, US)
Hanak, Fredric M. (Lake Jackson, TX, US)

Application Number: 486539
Filing Date: 1974-07-08
Publication_date: 1979-03-20
Assignee: The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, MI)
Primary Class(es): 203/14 203/34, 203/50, 570/262
Other Classes:
US Patent Ref:

2308170	Jan, 1943	Green et al.	260/657.
3499941	Mar, 1970	Givens et al.	260/657.

Other Refs:
Primary Examiner: Sever, Frank
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney: Baker; G. R., Ancona; A. C.