The present invention provides a method of producing
hydrochloric acid, comprising reacting high-temperature gaseous
chlorine and water vapour in a carbon-free reverse Deacon reaction (RDR) at a temperature of from about 450 to about 750 °Celsius to produce a mixture of gases comprising
hydrogen chloride and
oxygen. The
chlorine is produced by fusing and electrolysing
sodium or
magnesium chloride in
solid phase. The water vapour comes from thermally decomposing a
hydroxide of at least one of
calcium,
magnesium and iron in the absence of
oxygen to produce the water vapour without any admixture of
oxygen (e.g., from
atmospheric air). The mixture of gases produced by the RDR is immediately contacted with
liquid water to dissolve the
hydrogen chloride therein, thereby producing
hydrochloric acid and a
stream of
tail gases. Heat is extracted from the
hydrochloric acid to maintain its temperature substantially constant until the
stream of
tail gases is no longer in contact therewith. Thus the
chlorine and water vapour are both supplied to the RDR at high purity and require little, if any, preheating. Heat extracted from contacting the mixture of gases with
liquid water may be used to keep the RDR within its range of operating temperatures.
Oxygen can be separated from the
stream of
tail gases, and the oxygen-depleted stream can be recycled back to the RDR to give a high percentage conversion of chlorine to
hydrogen chloride. The RDR may be uncatalysed and kept within its
operating temperature range by radio-frequency volumetric heating in at least one of the IEEE Ku-, K- and Ka-bands. The invention also provides a corresponding apparatus (1h) for producing hydrochloric acid, comprising an
electrolytic cell (10) for the
electrolysis, a gas-tight
kiln (20) for the
thermal decomposition, a gas-phase reactor (30) for the RDR, and an absorber (40) for dissolving the
hydrogen chloride in the
liquid water. The apparatus (1h) may further comprise a separator (80) for separating the stream of tail gases into the oxygen-depleted stream and a stream of oxygen, which may be fed to a
steelmaking apparatus (90), for example. The liquid water for dissolving the
hydrogen chloride can come from condensing water vapour obtained by
drying an
aqueous solution of
sodium or
magnesium chloride or of
sodium hydroxide. The apparatus (1h) may therefore also comprise a dryer (60) for
drying this
aqueous solution, and a condenser (70) for condensing the water vapour thus obtained.
Sodium chloride or magnesium chloride in
solid phase derived from
drying the
aqueous solution may be recycled back to the
electrolytic cell (10).
Electricity for the
electrolysis can come from a
renewable resource. At least some of the heat for the
thermal decomposition may come from the
liquid metal which is a co-product of the
electrolysis. The invention is therefore highly energy efficient and requires little, if any, extra energy, apart from the
electricity required for the electrolysis. The invention also uses commonly available ingredients and produces no
greenhouse gases.