United States Patent (19) (11 3,995,013 Démarq (45) Nov
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
United States Patent (19) (11 3,995,013 Démarq (45) Nov. 30, 1976 54 PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF 1906,440 5/1933 Wirth.................................. 423/300 PHOSPHORUS PENTACHELORIDE 75 Inventor: Michel Démarq, Lyon, France Primary Examiner-Oscar R. Vertiz 73) Assignee: Produits Chimiques Ugine Assistant Examiner-Gregory A. Heller Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Brooks Haidt Haffner & Kuhlmann, Paris, France Delahunty 22 Filed: Jan. 2, 1975 (21) Appl. No.: 538,155 57) ABSTRACT 30 Foreign Application Priority Data Processes for the preparation of high-purity free Jan. 3, 1974 France .............................. 74.OO 107 flowing crystalline powder phosphorus pentachloride which processes comprise reacting phosphorus trichlo 52 U.S. Cl. ................................................ 423/300 ride with a deficit of chlorine, cooling the reaction (5ll Int. Cl.’.......................................... C01B 25/10 mixture to form a crystalline mass containing the pen 58 Field of Search..................................... 423/300 tachloride, and recovering and/or purifying the pentachloride. 56 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8 Claims, No Drawings 1,888,713 l l l 1932 Britton et al.so a w w a so a so a s a 423/300 3,995,013 2 PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE INVENTION PHOSPHORUS PENTACHLORIDE It has now surprisingly been discovered that the phos phorus trichloride itself is an almost ideal reaction BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 5 medium for the preparation of phosphorus pentachlo The present invention relates to processes for prepar ride. The method of operation of the processes accord ing high-purity phosphorus pentachloride in the form ing to the present invention thus generally comprises of a freely-flowing crystalline powder. three steps, namely, a chlorination of liquid phosphorus Numerous processes are known for preparing phos trichloride with a deficit of chlorine, a phase separa 10 tion, and recovery and/or purification of the pentachlo phorus pentachloride, PCls. The most usual of these ride by removal of the trichloride. Some advantages involves reacting chlorine with phosphorus trichloride, accruing through the use of the trichloride arise be PCla, either in the dry form or in a solvent. cause its boiling point is not too high, its very low crys The dry method is the oldest and was described in tallization temperature eliminates the risk of eutectic BIOS Final Report No. 562. This was the batch process 15 cocrystallization with PCls and the fact of the reduced in which liquid phosphorus trichloride was introduced solubility of phosphorus pentachloride in the cold liq in the form of slender streams at the top of a steel tower uid (for example, 9% at about 15° C). Moreover, the containing a rising stream of gaseous chlorine. The use of phosphorus trichloride presents by comparison solid phosphorus pentachloride was recovered at the with other solvents a number of specific advantages, bottom of the tower. notably, the simplification of the process because the An analogous process conducted on a continuous solvent is already a necessary constituent of the reactor basis has been described by Van Wazer in the Kirk mixture, the fact that an exact amount of chlorine feed Othmer, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (2d Ed.) is not required, the greatest purity of obtained product 15,307. U.S. Pat. No. 1,914,750 describes the reaction without the risk of retaining a foreign solvent, and the of liquid chlorine with phosphorus trichloride at a tem 25 fact that traces of residual phosphorus trichloride can perature and a pressure such that the phosphorus pen be eliminated through drying, as with other solvents, tachloride does not sublime. An apparatus for the chlo but also, even more simply by means of a mild post rination of phosphorus trichloride in a closed vessel chlorination of the wet phosphorus pentachloride crys with automatic control and safety devices is described tals. in Ind. Chemist. Chem. Manufact. 25, 517-20 (1949). 30 The first step comprises passing gaseous or liquid Other references are cited in Gmelins Handbuch der chlorine through phosphorus trichloride agitated so as Anorganischen Chemie, under the heading "Phospho to obtain after cooling a crystalline mass having from rus', Vol. C, page 435. about 5 to about 90% solids. The preferred quantity of The dry techniques present numerous disadvantages solid material in this stage of the reaction is from about which are, on the one hand, technical problems princi 35 20 to about 75%. All parts, percentages, proportions pally arising from the difficulty of dissipating the heat and ratios herein are by weight unless otherwise stated. of reaction which often causes local overheating harm It will be understood from the present description ful to normal discharge of the reaction product (be that the chlorination step of the process (wherein chlo cause the phosphorus pentachloride sets up into a mass rine is reacted with the trichloride) is carried out utiliz in the reactor) and to the efficient utilization of mate 40 ing a deficit or deficiency of chlorine. A deficit of chlo rial. On the other hand, these processes provide an rine is taken herein to mean a quantity of chlorine inferior quality phosphorus pentachloride, such prod which is less than the stoichiometric quantity required to convert all of the trichloride to the pentachloride. As uct having in effect undesirable coarseness and com taught above, the chlorination is carried out to provide prising irregular pieces which must be broken up. Fur 45 certain solid content in the reaction mixture. ther, this material contains in an occluded form signifi The heat of reaction is removed either by external cant quantities of phosphorus trichloride which has not cooling of the reactor or by condensation of the boiling reacted. Finally, these materials retain all of the impuri phosphorus trichloride vapors. It is also contemplated ties found in the raw materials; thus, iron and arsenic that the cooling can be supplied by a combination of frequently occur in the product, as do corrosion prod 50 these two methods. ucts. The chlorination temperature can be from about 0. Accordingly, this dry technique is increasingly being to about 150°C, and is preferably from about 40° to abandoned these days in favor of the so called 'sol about 10C. The chlorination reaction can take place vent" technique. In this latter technique, the phospho under subatmospheric, atmospheric, or superatmos rus trichloride is treated with gaseous chlorine in the 55 pheric pressure. Generally, this chlorination reaction is midst of an inert solvent contained in an agitated reac carried out at absolute pressures from 0.1 to 10 bars, tor equipped with a cooling jacket and a reflux con and in certain preferred embodiments of the invention denser. at pressures from about 1 to 1.5 bars. After complete reaction of the phosphorus trichlo The reaction vessel and the condenser can be con ride and cooling, the suspension of phosphorus penta 60 structed entirely of materials which are resistant both chloride crystals so obtained is then filtered and dried. to the phosphorus trichloride and pentachloride as well The greatest part of the impurities remains in the sol as to the chlorine. Appropriate materials of construc vent which is recycled as-is or after distillation. The tion for the process of the present invention include solvent most conveniently utilized is carbon tetrachlo glass, lead-lined, silver-lined and polyfluorocarbon re ride, and attention is called to the Van Wazer reference 65 sin-lined steels, enameled steel, nickel, graphite, and in this regard. Other possible solvents include tetra certain stainless steels. chloroethane, chlorobenzene or even phosphoryl A preferred embodiment for this chlorination stage chloride, POCl (U.S. Pat. No. 1,906,440). of the reaction involves operating at reflux during chlo 3,995,013 3 4 rine introduction until a homogeneous boiling solution sion to phosphoryl chloride by combined reaction with is obtained. This solution would comprise desirably chlorine and phosphoric anhydride. between 40 and 60% of phosphorus pentachloride. The following example is given to illustrate embodi The resulting solution is next cooled with agitation to ments of the invention as it is presently preferred to a temperature of, for example, from 15 to 30° C to practice it. It will be understood that this example is obtain a pumpable and filtrable crystalline mass com illustrative, and the invention is not to be considered as prising phosphorus pentachloride. restricted thereto except as indicated in the appended The next step of the process comprises separating the claims. solid and liquid phases so obtained by filtration, drain ing, decantation or centrifugation, as is conventionally 10 EXAMPLE known. A 1-liter glass reactor fitted with an anchor-shaped Following this separation step, the liquid phosphorus agitator, a thermometer, a reflux condenser and a dry trichloride (saturated with dissolved pentachloride) chlorine delivery tube opening close to the inner side which wets the pentachloride crystals is removed. Such wall of the reactor without dipping into the liquid, is removal of trichloride can be carried out in a number 15 charged with 550 g (4 moles) of phosphorus trichlo of ways to free the pentrachloride of substantially all ride. The flask contents are brought to a boil, and then such remaining trichloride. 124 g (1.75 mole) of chlorine is introduced during a 40 The trichloride can be removed by either batch or minute period while the boiling is continued. The tem continuous evaporation. Such evaporation can be car perature of the liquid rises from 74 to 89 C. Thereaf ried out, for example, using a dry gas stream, for exam 20 ple, dry air or nitrogen, or alternatively a subatmo ter, the solution obtained is cooled with agitation to 20 spheric pressure in an appropriate unit such as a mixer, C. rotary dryer, or a fluidized bed. Such apparatus is con The 665 g of crystalline mass so obtained is drained structed of materials which will not be significantly on a fritted glass Buchner funnel under dry nitrogen.