PROCESS FOR PRODUCING BROMINE FROM BROMIDE SALTS

This invention is a combination process for producing elemental bromine using bromide salt feedstocks. The process involves acidifying an inorganic bromide salt with a strong and concentrated acid, preferably sulfuric acid, to produce a gaseous HBr stream. The HBr stream is then mixed with an O2-containing gas and passed to an oxidation reactor where it is catalytically oxidized to produce a stream of Br2 and H2O. The hot reactor effluent is quenched and the product Br2 is separated from the H2O. In the figure, HBr stream is introduced into an evaporator (204) and to superheater (206). The O2 feedstream (208) is warmed. A reactor feedstream (214) is introduced into (216). The reaction product stream (218) is cooled in stages (220) and (222) and condensed. The condensate is then separated into a Br2 stream (224) added to water stream giving stream (226) and (228). The device (230) is a separator and (232) is a refrigeration unit. The resulting stream (234) is mixed with Br2 stream (224) giving noncondensed oxygen vapor stream (236) which is scrubbed in a gas treater (238). Distillation column (242) produces two streams (252) and (244). The overhead vapor stream (244) is condensed in overhead condenser (246) and collected in drum (248). The stream (250) is mixed with other streams. Device (256) is an absorption tower and (258) is the Br2 product stream.