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According to Sinochem New Network, recently, the chlorine production plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons, developed over a period of more than 17 years through collaboration between Professor Guo Yanglong’s team from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering at East China University of Science and Technology and Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Chlor-Alkali Chemical”), began operating at full capacity. It also passed the 72-hour continuous operation test successfully. This device is the world’s first industrial production unit for the catalytic oxidation of hydrogen chloride to produce chlorine, using a fixed-bed copper-based catalyst process and featuring entirely independent intellectual property rights. It not only enables the recycling of chlorine resources but also ensures a \"zero emissions\" level throughout the production process. Guo Yanglong’s team used catalytic oxidation to \"upgrade\" the copper-based catalysts – by modifying them with rare earth elements, they not only increased the catalyst’s activity and stability but also reduced the reaction temperature, making it more durable. The improved high-performance copper-based catalyst has a service life of over 3 years in single-tube tests, and its cost per ton of chlorine produced is only one-tenth that of ruthenium-based catalysts. “This technology addresses the common problem that has persisted for a long time in China’s chlorine-related industries such as polyurethane and fluorine chemistry: the difficulty of recycling the large amounts of hydrogen chloride generated as a by-product on a value-added basis. It reduces the electrolysis load and carbon emissions in the chlor-alkali industry at the source, providing technical support for China’s efforts to promote circular economy development and achieve its ‘dual carbon’ strategic goals. ”Guo Yanglong said. It is reported that as the world’s largest producer of polyurethanes (MDI/TDI), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and fluorine-based chemicals, China generates over 10 million tons of hydrogen chloride as an industrial by-product each year. The issue of recycling this large amount of hydrogen chloride is a common challenge that hinders the development of industries such as polyurethanes, fluorine chemistry, chlor-alkali production, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. To promote the healthy development of emerging industries in China and the optimization and upgrading of the chlor-alkali industry, the country has included comprehensive utilization technologies such as the production of chlorine from waste hydrochloric acid in the \"Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)\“. Using hydrogen chloride as a raw material to produce chlorine enables the recycling of chlorine resources, which can effectively address the issue of by-product hydrogen chloride. Currently, there are three main technical approaches for producing chlorine from hydrogen chloride: electrolysis, direct oxidation, and catalytic oxidation.