Patent ID: 8835702

Claim:
A process for the manufacture of haloalkane compounds consisting essentially of reacting carbon tetrachloride and an alkene wherein CCl 4 originating by-products are minimized during the start-up phase of the reaction comprising the step of conducting the reaction with only an iron metal catalyst and one or more organophosphate compounds as a co-catalyst; wherein the alkene is selected from the group consisting of vinyl chloride, ethylene and 2-chloropropene; wherein the haloalkane compounds are selected from the group consisting of HCC-240fa, HCC-250 and HCC-360; wherein the CCl 4 byproducts being minimized include hexachloroethane, tetrachloroethene, chloroform, and hexachlorobutadiene, normally generated during the reaction of CCl 4 and the alkene; and wherein once the reaction contains at least about 35 wt % of the haloalkane compound, further including a step in which FeCl 3 is introduced to the reactor to prevent the formation of undesirable by-products including 1,1,3,3,5,5-hexachloropentane and 1,1,1,3,5,5-hexachloropentane.