Pyrolysis Reactions of (2-Chloroethyl)benzene

Area of Science:

• Chemical Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry
• Combustion Science

Background:

• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recycling faces challenges with traditional methods.
• Chemical recycling via pyrolysis offers an alternative but requires understanding thermal decomposition.
• Chlorinated hydrocarbons, like (2-chloroethyl)benzene, are significant pyrolysis products needing further study.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elucidate the thermal decomposition pathways of (2-chloroethyl)benzene.
• To identify the specific products generated from the high-temperature pyrolysis of (2-chloroethyl)benzene.
• To contribute to the understanding of chemical recycling processes for PVC.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a hyperthermal tubular reactor for gas-phase pyrolysis.
• Employed matrix-isolation Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for product identification.
• Conducted pyrolysis experiments at a temperature of 1400 K.

Main Results:

• Identified hydrogen chloride (HCl) as a primary product.
• Detected various hydrocarbon species including styrene, phenylacetylene, benzene, vinylacetylene, acetylene, propyne, and ethylene.
• Observed the formation of the propargyl radical.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully identified major products from (2-chloroethyl)benzene pyrolysis.
• Findings provide crucial data on the fate of chlorinated hydrocarbons in PVC chemical recycling.
• This research supports the development of optimized PVC pyrolysis processes.