Editing Deacon process

{{Short description|Industrial process}}
The '''Deacon process''', invented by [[Henry Deacon (industrialist)|Henry Deacon]], is a process used during the [[manufacture]] of [[alkali]]s (the initial end product was [[sodium carbonate]]) by the [[Leblanc process]].  [[Hydrogen chloride]] gas was converted to [[chlorine]] gas, which was then used to manufacture a commercially valuable [[bleaching powder]], and at the same time the emission of waste [[hydrochloric acid]] was curtailed.  To some extent this technically sophisticated process superseded the earlier [[manganese dioxide]] process.<ref name=chlorine/>

==Process==

The process was based on the oxidation of hydrogen chloride: 
:4 HCl  +  O<sub>2</sub>  →  2 Cl<sub>2</sub>  +  2[[Water|H<sub>2</sub>O]]

The reaction takes place at about 400 to 450&nbsp;°C in the presence of a variety of catalysts, including [[Copper(II) chloride|copper chloride]] (CuCl<sub>2</sub>). Three companies developed commercial processes for producing [[chlorine]] based on the Deacon reaction:<ref name=chlorine>Peter Schmittinger et al. "Chlorine," Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co, 2006, {{doi|10.1002/14356007.a06_399.pub2}}</ref>

*The Kel-Chlor process developed by the [[M. W. Kellogg Company]], which utilizes [[nitrosylsulfuric acid]].
*The Shell-Chlor process developed by the [[Shell Oil Company]], which utilizes copper catalysts.
*The MT-Chlor process developed by the Mitsui Toatsu Company, which utilizes chromium-based catalysts.

The Deacon process is now outdated technology. Most chlorine today is produced by using [[electrolytic process]]es. New catalysts based on [[ruthenium(IV) oxide]] have been developed by [[Sumitomo]].<ref>K. Seki, Catal. Surv. Asia 14, 168 (2010) {{doi|10.1007/s10563-010-9091-7}}.</ref>

==Leblanc-Deacon process==
The Leblanc-Deacon process is a modification of the Leblanc process.  The Leblanc process was notoriously environmentally unfriendly, and resulted in some of the first Air and Water pollution acts.  In 1874, [[Henry Deacon (industrialist)|Henry Deacon]] had derived a process to reduce HCl emissions as mandated by the [[Alkali Act]].  In this process, [[hydrogen chloride]] is oxidized by oxygen over a [[Copper(II) chloride|copper chloride]] [[catalyst]], resulting in the production of [[chlorine]].  This was widely used in the paper and textile industries as a bleaching agent, and as a result [[sodium carbonate]] was no longer the primary product of these plants, and henceforth sold at a loss.

==See also==
* [[Alkali act]]
* [[Leblanc process]]
* [[Hydrochloric acid]]
* [[Chlorine production#Other methods|Chlorine production]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* http://www.che.lsu.edu/COURSES/4205/2000/Lim/paper.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060912054955/http://www.che.lsu.edu/COURSES/4205/2000/Lim/paper.htm |date=2006-09-12 }}
* http://www.electrochem.org/dl/interface/fal/fal98/IF8-98-Pages32-36.pdf
* Deacon chemistry revisited: new catalysts for chlorine recycling. ETH (2013). {{doi|10.3929/ethz-a-010055281}}; https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-a-010055281

[[Category:Chemical processes]]
[[Category:Inorganic reactions]]
[[Category:Chlorine]]