Processes and equipment for producing vinyl chloride from 1,2-dichloroethane.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- TH2501001297
- Authority / Receiving Office
- TH · TH
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-08-21
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-24
AI Technical Summary
Current processes for producing vinyl chloride from 1,2-dichloroethane are inefficient in terms of operating costs and CO2 emissions, with high temperatures required for thermal cleavage, and lack effective methods for reducing energy consumption and improving carbon balance.
A process utilizing catalytic thermal cleavage of 1,2-dichloroethane with a liquid or condensing heat transfer medium, where heat is supplied through hydrogen or ammonia oxidation, allowing the reaction temperature to be reduced to 200-400 °C, and incorporating a tube bundle heat exchanger with a catalyst bed, and utilizing waste heat from by-products for additional heating.
This approach reduces operating costs, improves energy efficiency, and decreases CO2 emissions by lowering reaction temperatures and utilizing CO2-neutral energy sources, enhancing the carbon balance in the manufacturing process.
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Abstract
Description
[0001] Process and plant for the production of vinyl chloride from 1,2-dichloroethane
[0002] The present invention relates to a process for producing vinyl chloride by catalytic thermal decomposition of 1,2-dichloroethane, in which the heat required for the thermal decomposition is supplied via a liquid or condensing heat transfer medium. The present invention further relates to a plant for producing vinyl chloride by catalytic thermal decomposition of 1,2-dichloroethane, in which the heat required for the thermal decomposition is supplied via a liquid or condensing heat transfer medium, comprising at least one reactor in which the thermal decomposition takes place, at least one first heating device by means of which the heat transfer medium is heated, and a line system for supplying the heated heat transfer medium (4) to the reactor (1).The at least one first heating device is operated by means of a fuel that burns without the formation of carbon dioxide, preferably hydrogen or ammonia or a mixture of hydrogen and ammonia and particularly preferably by means of hydrogen, ie the heating of the heat transfer medium takes place in the at least one first heating device by means of thermal energy obtained by oxidation of hydrogen or another fuel that burns without the formation of carbon dioxide.
[0003] The thermal decomposition of 1,2-dichloroethane to produce vinyl chloride, which is particularly required for the production of polyvinyl chloride, follows the reaction equation shown below:
[0004] It is an endothermic reaction, whereby the pyrolysis can take place either catalyst-free in the gas phase under high pressure of 1 to 3 MPa and at a temperature of 450 to 600 °C or in catalytic processes that allow the pyrolysis to be carried out at lower temperatures.
[0005] State of the art
[0006] EP 0 264 065 A1, for example, describes a process for producing vinyl chloride by catalyst-free thermal cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane, in which 1,2-dichloroethane is heated in a first vessel, then transferred to a second vessel by evaporating it without further heating under a lower pressure than in the first vessel, and the gaseous 1,2-dichloroethane is fed into a cracking furnace, in which cracking to vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride takes place. The temperature of the 1,2-dichloroethane upon leaving the second vessel is 220 °C to 280 °C. In the cracking furnace, tubes in which the 1,2-dichloroethane is thermally cracked are heated by means of a fossil fuel. In the radiation zone of the cracking furnace, the gaseous
[0007] 1 .2-Dichloroethane heated to 525 °C and 533 °C respectively.
[0008] In EP 0 264 065 A1 it is also mentioned that for preheating the liquid, fresh
[0009] 1,2-dichloroethane can use a temperature control medium, which in turn is heated in the convection zone of the cracking furnace with the flue gas generated by the burners heating the cracking furnace. Heated, high-boiling liquids such as mineral oil, silicone oil, or molten biphenyl are suitable as temperature control media. However, this method only preheats to a temperature of 150 to 220 °C, while the pyrolysis itself takes place at temperatures of approximately 530 °C. Therefore, this known process does not envision performing pyrolysis at temperatures in the range of 200 to 400 °C and providing the entire necessary heating with the aid of a liquid heat transfer medium.
[0010] As a rule, a plant complex for the production of vinyl chloride consists of a plant for the production of 1,2-dichloroethane from ethene and chlorine (“direct chlorination”), or a plant for the production of 1,2-dichloroethane from ethene, hydrogen chloride and oxygen (“oxychlorination”), a plant for the distillative purification of 1,2-dichloroethane, a plant for the thermal cracking of the distillatively purified 1,2-dichloroethane to vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride and a plant for the distillative separation of the hydrogen chloride and unreacted
[0011] 1,2-dichloroethane and for the purification of vinyl chloride.
[0012] The hydrogen chloride obtained by thermal decomposition of 1,2-dichloroethane can be returned to the oxychlorination plant and there combined with ethene and oxygen to produce
[0013] 1.2-dichloroethane.
[0014] Furthermore, the plant complex described above can include a plant for the combustion of liquid and / or gaseous chlorinated hydrocarbons. The latter arise as byproducts in the vinyl chloride production process and are primarily separated during the distillative purification of 1,2-dichloroethane. The hydrogen chloride produced during the combustion of these substances is either released as aqueous hydrochloric acid to other production processes or also recycled to the oxychlorination plant. The waste heat from the combustion is used to generate steam in existing processes.
[0015] The process described in DE 102 52 891 A1 for splitting 1,2-dichloroethane into vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride uses a catalyst that allows the operating temperature during the endothermic splitting to be lowered. However, in this process too, the tubular reactor is fired with a primary energy source such as oil or gas, with the furnace divided into a radiation zone and a convection zone. In the radiation zone, the heat required for pyrolysis is transferred to the reaction tube primarily by radiation from the burner-heated furnace walls. In the convection zone, the energy content of the hot flue gases escaping from the radiation zone is utilized through convective heat transfer, whereby the 1,2-dichloroethane as the reactant of the pyrolysis reaction can be preheated, vaporized, or superheated.
[0016] Various measures for energy conservation and heat recovery in plants for the production of 1,2-dichloroethane are known from the state of the art. Such measures lead to a significant reduction in operating costs and thus contribute significantly to the economic efficiency of the plant and to a reduction in CO2 emissions. These include, for example, measures that utilize the reaction heat from the exothermic reaction steps to heat heat sinks in the process. WO 2014 / 108159 A1 lists various known measures for heat recovery in plants for the production of vinyl chloride and cites the relevant literature.
[0017] EP 0 225 617 A1 describes a process for producing vinyl chloride by thermal cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane, mentioning that in some cases this process involves recovering waste heat from the flue gases of a cracking furnace firing to produce steam. However, due to the relatively low flue gas temperature, such processes are not very economical. The thermal cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane also takes place in this process at comparatively high temperatures. First, the reactant is preheated to approximately 243 °C, then evaporated partly by depressurization and partly by exposure to steam, and finally thermally cracked in a cracking furnace at temperatures between 435 °C and 497 °C without the use of a catalyst. Heating using a heat transfer oil is not provided for and is also not possible at these temperatures.
[0018] EP 0 002 021 A1 describes a process for the catalytic dehydrohalogenation of 1,2-dichloroethane to vinyl chloride using zeolitic catalysts treated with a Lewis acid. Using such catalysts, the reaction can be carried out at elevated pressure and temperatures in the range of 200 °C to 400 °C, which are considerably lower than those used in the conventional pyrolysis of 1,2-dichloroethane.
[0019] The object of the present invention is to provide an improved process for producing vinyl chloride by thermal decomposition of 1,2-dichloroethane, which achieves a reduction in operating costs. Furthermore, the object of the present invention is to improve the carbon dioxide balance of a production process for producing vinyl chloride.
[0020] The solution to the above-mentioned problem provides a process for the production of vinyl chloride by catalytic thermal decomposition of 1,2-dichloroethane of the type mentioned at the outset with the features of claim 1.
[0021] According to the invention, the liquid or condensing heat transfer medium is at least temporarily or at least partially heated by thermal energy generated during the oxidation of hydrogen, ammonia, or an ammonia-hydrogen mixture. This type of operation is CO2-neutral. By using catalysts for the thermal cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane, the temperature range in which the reaction takes place can be shifted to lower temperatures, in particular to the range from approximately 200°C to approximately 400°C, so that the reactor can be heated by a heat transfer medium instead of the previous direct firing with fossil fuels. Instead of a cracked-tube furnace, a tube bundle heat exchanger, for example, can be used as the reactor. The tubes are filled with a catalyst bed and the heat transfer medium, preferably circulating, flows through the shell space.
[0022] According to a preferred further development of the process according to the invention, at least some or all of the hydrogen to be oxidized is produced in an upstream electrolysis unit. The electrolysis unit can preferably be set up to carry out chlor-alkali electrolysis. The chlorine gas also produced can be used in the direct chlorination process in the vinyl chloride production process. Alternatively, the electrolysis unit can also be set up for water electrolysis. In this case, the oxygen produced can be used in the oxychlorination process. Finally, the electrolysis unit can also be set up for hydrogen chloride electrolysis. Preferably, the hydrogen chloride produced during the thermal decomposition of 1,2-dichloroethane is electrochemically decomposed and / or the resulting chlorine gas is reused for the chlorination of ethene in the production process.It is also advantageous that the heat required for the reaction is at least temporarily partially obtained by heating the heat transfer medium by combustion of the hydrogen and / or ammonia. In this case, it can be provided that the heat required for the reaction is obtained entirely by the oxidation of hydrogen and / or ammonia.
[0023] It is also possible for the heat transfer medium to be heated, at least temporarily, partly by oxidation of thermal energy generated from hydrogen and / or ammonia and partly by combustion of a fuel other than these fuels. This preferred variant of the process provides that the heat required for the reaction is generally provided by a first heating device heatable by hydrogen and / or ammonia, but at least a second heating device operated by a fuel other than the aforementioned fuels is present and can be used at least temporarily. In these cases, the first heating device can be throttled or, if necessary, shut down completely for a certain period of time, or the heat transfer medium can be guided in such a way that its flow bypasses the first heating device.
[0024] For example, the at least one second heating device can be designed as an incineration plant for the combustion of liquid and / or gaseous chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as those produced as by-products in a plant for the production of vinyl chloride.
[0025] The use of a liquid or condensing heat transfer medium to provide all of the reaction heat required for the pyrolytic cleavage of 1,2-dichloroethane is made possible by carrying out the reaction in the presence of suitable catalysts which enable a significant reduction in the reaction temperature compared to conventional processes without catalysis. When using such catalysts, the reaction can be reduced, for example, from the temperatures customary in conventional processes in the order of about 430 °C to about 530 °C to temperatures in the range of, in particular, about 200 °C to 400 °C. Heating to temperatures in this range is possible, for example, using a heat transfer oil or, if appropriate, a molten salt. Suitable catalysts include, for example, substances such as those mentioned in the above-mentioned EP 0 002021 A1.
[0026] A process for purely thermal (uncatalyzed in a pyrolysis furnace) or thermally catalytic EDC cleavage (with heat input when using a catalyst) usually consists of the following steps: Preheating of liquid 1,2-dichloroethane to the evaporation temperature at the given pressure Evaporation of the preheated 1,2-dichloroethane If necessary, superheating of the vaporous 1,2-dichloroethane to the reaction temperature range (if the previous evaporation did not take place in the reaction temperature range)
[0027] Cleavage reaction (purely thermal or thermal with the use of a catalyst) with the addition of heat.
[0028] The invention relates to a process that, in addition to heating the catalytic thermal cleavage reaction with a liquid or condensing heat transfer medium, also enables the heating of the upstream preheating, evaporation, or superheating of 1,2-dichloroethane with this heat transfer medium. Not all of these steps necessarily have to be heated by the heat transfer medium. The process according to the invention comprises the heating of at least one of the above-mentioned substeps up to any desired combination, whereby the individual substeps can in turn be subdivided (by means of the apparatus) into individual steps.
[0029] “Heating” in the sense of the process according to the invention means the transfer of heat to the starting material 1,2-dichloroethane and / or the reaction mixture by means of a heat transfer medium. The starting material 1,2-dichloroethane can be heated, vaporized and / or superheated. Heat can be supplied to the reaction mixture in the reactor at a constant temperature level (isothermal reaction). The reaction mixture can also heat up further, with the heat supplied by the heating being used partly to cover the reaction heat requirement and partly to further heat the reaction mixture. Finally, the heat supply to the reaction mixture can be adjusted by heating such that the sensible heat content of the reaction mixture is used at least partly to cover the reaction heat requirement and the reaction mixture in the reactor cools down compared to the reactor inlet temperature.The heating and also the transfer of heat to the starting material 1,2-dichloroethane is carried out by a liquid heat transfer medium with cooling of the heat transfer medium or with reduction of its sensible heat content and / or by a condensing heat transfer medium that has previously been evaporated by means of a heating device.
[0030] Heating devices for the heat transfer medium within the meaning of the method according to the invention are, on the one hand, devices (heaters and / or evaporators or devices in which a heater and an evaporator function are combined) that can be heated by means of hydrogen, ammonia, or an ammonia-hydrogen mixture (first heating device) or a fossil fuel such as heating oil or preferably natural gas (second heating device). On the other hand, these are heat transfer devices (heaters and / or evaporators or devices in which a heater and an evaporator function are combined) heated by means of the waste heat from a plant for the combustion of by-products of a chemical plant, preferably a plant for the combustion of by-products of a plant complex for the production of vinyl chloride). Such devices are known to the person skilled in the art.
[0031] As a rule, the heat requirement of a plant for the catalytic thermal cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane can only be partially covered by the combustion of by-products from the vinyl chloride production plant complex. In a preferred operating mode, the heat transfer medium is therefore initially heated using the waste heat from the combustion of by-products, and the remaining required heat is supplied by the combustion of hydrogen, ammonia, or a hydrogen-ammonia mixture in the first heating plant.
[0032] According to a preferred further development of the process according to the invention, the liquid or condensing heat transfer medium is circulated, and integrated into this circuit are at least one first heating device operated by the oxidation of hydrogen, ammonia, or a hydrogen-ammonia mixture, and a reactor for the catalytic thermal decomposition of 1,2-dichloroethane, with heat exchange occurring between a reaction medium of the reactor and the heat transfer medium. Preferably, the previously described at least one second heating device operated by the combustion of at least one fuel other than the aforementioned fuels is also integrated into the circuit.
[0033] According to a preferred further development of the method according to the invention, at least one first heating device and at least one second heating device are connected in series in the circuit. The heat transfer medium then flows in a line circuit first through the second heating device and then, downstream of this, through the first heating device, or these two heating devices flow through in reverse order. Alternatively, it is also possible to arrange the two heating devices in a quasi-parallel connection, i.e., the line circuit into which the heating devices are integrated is interconnected and the corresponding lines can be shut off, for example via valves, so that the heat transfer medium can flow through the second heating device without it also flowing through the first heating device, and possibly vice versa.According to a preferred further development of the process according to the invention, the heat transfer medium is conveyed through the reactor in the circuit countercurrent to the flow of the reaction medium. This variant is advantageous for effective heat transfer. Alternatively, however, a flow of the heat transfer medium cocurrent to the flow of the reaction medium is also possible.
[0034] According to a preferred further development of the process according to the invention, the second heating device is operated at least temporarily using the waste heat from a plant for incinerating the by-products of a vinyl chloride production plant. This variant offers the advantage that the waste heat is used from a part of the same plant complex, thus improving the energy balance of the process.
[0035] According to a preferred further development of the method according to the invention, the second heating device is operated continuously at full load. The remaining energy required for thermal decomposition can be supplied to the heat transfer medium by a first heating system heated by hydrogen and / or ammonia. In this variant of the method, the second heating device is preferably permanently at operating temperature.
[0036] According to a preferred further development of the process according to the invention, the thermal decomposition of 1,2-dichloroethane is carried out in a temperature range of 200 °C to 400 °C. This is a preferred temperature range that can be readily realized with liquid heat transfer media, for example, heat transfer oils.
[0037] The present invention further relates to a plant for producing vinyl chloride by catalytic thermal cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane, in which the heat required for the thermal cracking of the 1,2-dichloroethane and preferably also the heat required for the preheating, evaporation and / or superheating of the 1,2-dichloroethane is supplied via a liquid or condensing heat transfer medium, comprising at least one reactor in which the thermal cracking takes place, at least one first heating device by means of which the liquid heat transfer medium is heated and a line system for feeding the heated heat transfer medium into the reactor, wherein the at least one first heating device is designed for the oxidation of hydrogen and / or ammonia, ie can generate heat by the oxidation of one of the aforementioned fuels, preferably by combustion.
[0038] It is particularly preferred if the plant comprises at least one electrolysis unit connected upstream of the at least one first heating device, in particular for carrying out a chlor-alkali electrolysis, a water electrolysis or a hydrogen chloride electrolysis, wherein the hydrogen produced - optionally also after admixture of ammonia - is fed to the at least one first heating device.
[0039] Furthermore, the plant can comprise at least one second heating device for heating the reaction medium, which is designed for the combustion of at least one fuel other than hydrogen and ammonia, for example methane, natural gas, and / or liquid and / or gaseous residues from a chemical plant. In this case, it is preferred that the heat transfer medium first flows through the second heating device. The remainder of the heat required for the decomposition of the 1,2-dichloroethane, but also for its preheating in order to evaporate and / or superheat it, can be supplied by the first heating system. The first heating system can preferably be designed to be controllable to achieve a predeterminable final temperature of the heat transfer medium.
[0040] A preferred development of the invention provides that the line system forms a circuit of the heat transfer medium, into which the reactor and the at least one first heating device operated by means of hydrogen, ammonia or a hydrogen-ammonia mixture are integrated.
[0041] According to a preferred variant of the invention, at least one second heating device is also integrated into the heat transfer medium circuit. The flow sequence is preferably such that the second heating device is flowed through first. The terms "first" and "second" heating devices used here thus only refer to the functionally different type of heating devices, but do not specify the order in which the heat transfer medium flows through them.
[0042] A preferred development of the invention provides that in the circuit of the heat transfer medium the first heating device and the second heating device are arranged in series or alternatively in parallel.
[0043] According to a preferred variant of the invention, means are provided for transferring heat from the heat transfer medium to a reaction medium flowing through the reactor or located in the reactor.
[0044] A preferred development of the invention provides that the reactor comprises a tube-bundle heat exchanger whose tubes are filled with a catalyst bed and which preferably has a jacket space through which the circulating heat transfer medium flows. The present invention is described in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
[0045] Fig. 1 is a schematically simplified plant diagram of a plant according to the invention for producing vinyl chloride by catalytic thermal decomposition from 1,2-dichloroethane, and
[0046] Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a reactor with a tube bundle heat exchanger, the tubes of which are filled with a catalyst bed.
[0047] Reference is made below to the figures, with reference to which an exemplary embodiment of the process according to the invention is explained in more detail. The representation according to Figs. 1 and 2 is schematically greatly simplified, and only those plant components are shown that are of importance within the scope of the present invention. The plant comprises a reactor 1, to which, for example, a reactor inlet stream 2 of 1,2-dichloroethane (EDC) is fed via at least one line. This monomer is pyrolyzed in the reactor 1 under the action of heat to form monomeric vinyl chloride (VCM), producing hydrogen chloride in addition to the vinyl chloride. The aforementioned products of the process leave the reactor 1 in a reactor outlet stream 3.
[0048] The reactor 1 is integrated into a circuit 18 of a heat transfer medium 4 formed by a line system 8, such that heat is supplied to the reactor 1 via the liquid heat transfer medium, for example a heat transfer oil, which preferably flows in countercurrent to the reaction medium, in order to heat the reaction medium 13 flowing through the reactor 1 (cf. Fig. 2) to a temperature of, for example, 300 °C to 400 °C, at which the catalytic thermal decomposition of the 1,2-dichloroethane to vinyl chloride takes place in the reactor 1.
[0049] The circuit 18 of the heat transfer medium 4 is explained in more detail below. The circuit 18 of the heat transfer medium 4 comprises a pump 5 for conveying the heat transfer medium 4 in the circuit 18, wherein the heat transfer medium 4 first passes through a second heating device 7, which is optional according to the teachings of the invention, downstream of the pump 5. In this second heating device 7, the heat transfer medium 4, provided the second heating device 7 is in operation, can be heated by combustion of at least one fuel other than hydrogen and / or ammonia, for example methane, natural gas and / or liquid and / or gaseous residues from a chemical plant or the thermal energy from the waste heat of a chemical plant, for example from a plant for the production of vinyl chloride.
[0050] After the second heating device 7, the heat transfer medium 4 flows through a first heating device 6, which is fired with hydrogen 10, ammonia 11, or an ammonia-hydrogen mixture to heat the heat transfer medium 4. The hydrogen 10 used for heating can, as shown in Fig. 1, be generated, for example, in an upstream electrolysis unit 9. The electrolysis unit 9 can preferably be configured to carry out chlor-alkali electrolysis, water electrolysis, or hydrogen chloride electrolysis.
[0051] In the exemplary embodiment, the second heating device 7 and the first heating device 6 are arranged one behind the other in the flow direction in the line system 8 of the circuit 18 and are thus connected in series. Alternatively, however, both heating devices can also be connected in parallel to one another, i.e., unlike as shown in Fig. 1, the two heating devices are integrated into a line system 8 in such a way that the heat transfer medium 4 can flow through at least only one of the two heating devices at a time, bypassing the other heating device.
[0052] In the variant shown in Fig. 1 with both heating devices 6, 7 arranged in series, and also in the variant not shown with parallel connection, valves not shown in Fig. 1 can be provided to switch the heating devices on and off or to shut off the lines in circuit 18 at suitable points. Furthermore, one or more control devices (also not shown in Fig. 1) can be provided to regulate the heat output supplied by the first and / or second heating devices 6, 7 according to the heating requirement of the reaction medium in reactor 1.
[0053] A variant of the invention shown in Fig. 1 optionally additionally comprises a device 19 in which the reactor inlet stream 2 can be preheated, vaporized, and superheated using the heat content of the heat transfer medium 4 stream. These options do not necessarily have to be implemented in all cases, but can be implemented in any combination. The device 19 is preferably arranged downstream of the reactor 1 in the heat transfer medium circuit.
[0054] List of reference symbols
[0055] 1 reactor
[0056] 2 Reactor inlet stream
[0057] 3 Reactor outlet stream
[0058] 4 Heat transfer medium 5 Circulation pump
[0059] 6 first heating device
[0060] 7 second heating device
[0061] 8 Piping system 9 Electrolysis unit
[0062] 10 Hydrogen
[0063] 11 Ammonia
[0064] 12 means of heat transfer
[0065] 13 Reaction medium
[0066] 14 tube bundle heat exchangers
[0067] 15 pipes
[0068] 16 catalyst bed
[0069] 17 Jacket space
[0070] 18 Circuit 19 Device for preheating and / or evaporation and / or superheating
Claims
DEPCT681. A process for the thermal catalytic cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane of vinyl chloride, in which the heat required for thermal cracking is supplied through a liquid or condensing heat transfer medium (4), which is characterized by the heat transfer medium (4) being heated at least temporarily or partially by means of the thermal energy generated in the oxidation of hydrogen (10), ammonia (11), or a hydrogen-ammonia mixture.
2. The process according to claim 1.
1. A process under claim 1 or 2 characterized by the oxidation of hydrogen (10) and / or ammonia (11) being carried out by the combustion of hydrogen (10) and / or ammonia (11).
4. Any of the processes under claims 1 through 3 characterized by the vaporization and / or heating of 1,2-dichloroethane by means of a heat transfer medium (4). 5.One of the processes under claims 1 through 4 is characterized in which the heat transfer medium (4) is heated at least partially temporarily by means of thermal energy generated through the oxidation of hydrogen (10) and / or ammonia (11) and partially by the combustion of a fuel different from hydrogen and ammonia, or in which the heat transfer medium is heated entirely by means of thermal energy generated in the oxidation of hydrogen (10) and / or ammonia (11).
6. One of the processes under claims 1 through 5 is characterized in which at least one first heating device (6) operating by the oxidation of hydrogen (10) and / or ammonia (11) and by the additional use of at least one second heating device (7) operating by the combustion of at least one fuel different from hydrogen and ammonia is used to heat the liquid heat transfer medium (4). 7.Any of the processes under claims 1 through 6 are characterized in which the heat transfer medium (4) is circulated in a loop (18) and such loop (18) includes at least one first heating device (6) and reactor (1) for the catalytic decomposition of 1,2-dichloroethane, in which heat exchange occurs between the reaction medium (13) in reactor (1) and the heat transfer medium (4).
8. The process under claim 7 is characterized in which the loop (18) includes a second heating device (7).
9. The process under claim 8 is characterized in which at least one first heating device (6) and at least one second heating device (7) are connected in series in a loop (18).
10. Any of the processes under claims 7 through 9 are characterized in which the heat transfer medium (4) is circulated in the loop (18) in the opposite direction to the flow of the reaction medium (13) through reactor (1). 11.
12. A device for the production of vinyl chloride by catalytic thermal cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane in which the heat required for the thermal cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane and appropriate additional heat for preheating, vaporization and / or superheating of 1,2-dichloroethane is supplied through a medium. Liquid heat transfer or condensing heat transfer medium(4) such equipment includes at least one reactor(1) in which thermal decomposition occurs, at least one first heating device(6) in which the heat transfer medium(4) is heated, and a piping system(8) for supplying the heated heat transfer medium(4) to the reactor(1) which is characterized in that at least one first heating device(6) is designed for the oxidation of hydrogen(10) and / or ammonia(11).13.
14. An instrument under claim 12 or 13 that is characterized that the instrument includes at least one first heating unit (6) designed for the combustion of hydrogen (10) and / or ammonia (11).
15. An instrument under claim 12 to 14 that is characterized that the instrument also includes at least one second heating unit (9) upstream of at least one first heating unit (6) in which hydrogen (10) produced in the electrolysis unit (9) is supplied to at least one first heating unit (6).
16. An instrument under claims 12 to 14 that is characterized that the instrument also includes at least one second heating unit (7) for the combustion of at least one fuel other than hydrogen and ammonia, namely methane, natural gas and / or liquid and / or gaseous waste from chemical plants, for heating the heat transfer medium (4).
17. An instrument under claims 12 to 15 that is characterized that the piping system (8) circulates the heat transfer medium (4) in a loop (18) which includes the reactor (1) and at least one first heating unit (6).
18. Any device under claims 12 through 17 that is characterized that at least one first heating device (6) and at least one second heating device (7) are arranged in series or parallel loops (18) of heat transfer medium (4).
19. Any device under claims 12 through 18 that is characterized that method (12) is provided for the transfer of heat from heat transfer medium (4) to reaction medium (13) flowing through the reactor (1).
20. Any device under claims 12 through 19 that is characterized that the reactor (1) consists of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger (14), tubes (15) with a flow-through catalytic bed (16), and suitable heat transfer medium (4) flowing through the shell (17) voids of the reactor (1). 21.Any of the claims under clauses 12 to 20 shall be characterized by the inclusion of at least one device (19) for preheating and / or vaporization and / or superheating of 1,2-dichloroethane into the piping system (8) of the heat transfer medium (4);