Conceptual Design of Methyl Chloride Production Processes: A Review

The worldwide demand for methyl chloride is continuously increasing because of its industrial applications and the rapid development of the electronics and automotive sectors. Various chemical intermediates and end products from methyl chloride are demanding the increased production of this chemical product. Chlorination of methane and the hydrochlorination of methanol are the industrially existing processes. The stringent environmental regulations and the competition in the market demand the search for alternative processes or process modifications to improve the efficiency of the existing process plants. To meet these requirements continuous research is going on to improve the process efficiencies in terms of yield and environmental concerns. In this research, industrially existing processes and the recent production trends information is provided systematically. To fill the gap between the chemists and the process engineers conceptual design information is provided for both the industrially existing processes and the recent production trends. For simplicity, production processes are divided into catalytic and non-catalytic processes. A total of 11 conceptual process designs are identified from the systematic review and for all the processes conceptual designs are provided. Detailed discussions on recent developments on methyl chloride production processes, advantages, and the process challenges of various technologies are also presented.