Hydrogen Chloride Production from Hydrogen and Chlorine

Product

Hydrogen Chloride. Hydrogen Chloride (HCl), commonly found as hydrochloric acid (a.k.a. muriatic acid) when dissolved in water, is a highly important industrial chemical. Hydrochloric acid has widespread applications in various industries, with major uses in steel pickling, pH control, water treatment, and as a catalyst in chemical synthesis. It is also employed in the production of chlorides, fertilizers, dyes, and in food processing. Hydrogen chloride is primarily produced through the direct synthesis of hydrogen and chlorine, or as a by-product of chlorination reactions in various organic processes. The HCl gas can be absorbed in water to produce aqueous hydrochloric acid, which is the form most widely used industrially.

Raw Materials

Hydrogen. The hydrogen molecule, H2, is the normal state of pure hydrogen, even though hydrogen can be found in its atomic form under specific conditions. It is a very stable molecule, not usually reactive under normal conditions. Essentially, molecular hydrogen is produced industrially by three different methods: hydrocarbons steam reforming, hydrocarbons partial oxidation and water electrolysis. Hydrogen can also be obtained as a by-product recovered in processes such as the manufacture of styrene from ethylbenzene.

Chlorine. Chlorine figures among the most important chemical commodities. It is an indispensable intermediate in the chemical industry, employed in the manufacture of a multitude of end products (e.g. materials of construction, solvents, pesticides, etc). Most of chlorine produced on commercial scale is based on electrolysis of aqueous sodium chloride (brine), which also generates caustic soda and hydrogen as co-products (chlor-alkali processes).