PROCESS FOR PRODUCING CHLORINE DIOXIDE

A process for the production of chlorine dioxide by the reaction of an alkali metal chlorate and hydrochloric acid in aqueous solution at temperatures of from about 35 DEG to about 70 DEG C. wherein the chlorate and the hydrochloric acid are introduced into a first reaction zone (the primary reactor) and after a residence time of two to ten minutes the reactants are fed through a system of reaction zones (secondary reactors) filled and emptied in sequence, the temperature of the reaction mixture in each secondary reactor being equal to or at most 15 DEG C. above that in the primary reactor, the residence time in each secondary reactor being from 20 to 40 minutes, the process permitting the use of less expensive reactor materials, such as polyvinyl chloride, with consequent savings in the cost of the reactors so employed.