Patent ID: 6933417

Claim:
A method of manufacturing vinyl chloride, comprising the steps of: generating a reactor effluent stream by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, wherein the molar ratio of said ethane to said ethylene is between 0.02 and 50; cooling and condensing said reactor-effluent stream to provide a raw product stream having a first portion of said hydrogen chloride and a raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream having a second portion of said hydrogen chloride; separating said raw product stream into a vinyl chloride monomer product stream and into a lights stream having said first portion of said hydrogen chloride; and recycling said lights stream to catalytically react together with said ethane, said ethylene, said oxygen, and said chlorine source in said generating step.