Dechlorination of aromatics, aliphatics, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

In this work, dechlorination reactions are studied for a variety of chlorinated organic compounds ranging from low to high molecular weight. The low molecular weight aromatic compounds investigated are chlorinated benzenes, phenols, and pyridinols. The low molecular weight olefins include chlorinated ethylenes. A packed-bed differential micro-reactor was used for hydrodechlorination of low molecular weight compounds. The catalyst employed is a commercially available formulation of NiMo supported on gamma aluminum oxide. Reaction conditions are 1500 psig, 175-300{dollar}spcirc{dollar}C, and 1.6-2.0 ml/min. The compound studied for the high molecular weight range is PVC. Thermal and catalytic methods are used to depolymerize and dechlorinate PVC. Several reaction schemes are investigated and analytical methods are developed to assist in characterizing and quantifying products of these reactions.