DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTALLY HAZARDOUS MONOCHLORINATED PHENOLS VIA PYROLYSIS IN AN INERT ATMOSPHERE

A systematic study is reported of the thermal decomposition of 2-, 3-, and 4-chlorophenol at 1073 K in a nitrogen atmosphere. Fifty-six to seventy-four percent of the materials are converted to graphite, depending on the method of their introduction into a hot quartz tube furnace. Six and six tenths to ten percent of the materials are converted to naphthalene, and the other volatile and semi-volatile products obtained are identified via mass spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques. Analysis of the non-chlorinated aromatic by-products lends credence to a mechanism of graphitization in which the first step involves carbon monoxide and hydrogen chloride expulsion to form five and six carbon radicals.