pedrovecchio
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Posts: 38
Registered: 12-3-2012
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Mustard Gas by the French Process
Chemical weapons are not my cup of tea, but I stumbled upon an excellent patent on the French process for mustard gas production.
I used the search engine and the patent was apparently unknow here.
The process is based on the absorption of ethylene by a dilute (10%) solution of SCl2 in CCl4. Electrophilic addition. This process avoids the
troublesome formation of sulphur and much impurity in the product as in the Levinstein process, which uses S2Cl2, while retaining the latter's
simplicity vis a vis the Lommel-Steinkopf process, which is too involved. The only disadvantage is the need to recycle or waste large amounts of CCl4.
A JACS paper (reference lost) says that bubbling ethylene through a dilute solution of SCl2 in CCl4 is a good way of making pure mustard gas. This
gives more credibility to the patent, which is already chemically logical to begin with.
If you are familiar with the literature (references lost) you know that SCl2 reacts with mustard gas yielding crap. The process is faster than the
reaction with ethylene. That's why high dilution is needed. The S2Cl2 process is maybe analogous, with the less reactive S2Cl2 acting as a solvent for
the small amounts of SCl2 in equilibrium.
Facts about the Levinstein process, from lost literature references, are as follows: the Levinstein process was so troublesome that the mustard gas
used by the Allies was either of French or German (captured) manufacture. Only when the war was over did the non-French Allied mustard gas was ready
for use. The impurities made the product so unstable that later the mustard gas had to be destroyed or purified. The Levinstein process was later
replaced by one similar to the Lommel-Steinkopf process, but with the preparation of thiodiglycol being carried out straight from ethylene oxide and
H2S.
For the preparation of SCl2, CCl4, and Cl2 (needed to make the aforementioned), see for example the book "Small Scale Synthesis of Laboratory
Reagents", on SC Wack's 4shared folder. For the preparation of ethylene, see the paper by Newth, provided together with the patent, here.
If you can't read French try to use Google Translator.
Procede de fabrication du sulfure d'ethyle dichlore
Societe Chimique des Usines du Rhone
French Patent 504 814 (1920)
Download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?ajyl734a4pcphja
A Laboratory Method for the Preparation of Ethylene
G. S. Newth
Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions 79 (1901) 915
Download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?qv3cn7cbd5pwwb9
The documents are also attached to this message.
Fortunately nbk2000 isn't going to cut and paste or retype everything and put it on his DVD.
Attachment: rhone1920.pdf (106kB)
This file has been downloaded 525 times
Attachment: newth1901.pdf (196kB)
This file has been downloaded 477 times
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hissingnoise
International Hazard
Posts: 3940
Registered: 26-12-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pulverulescent!
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What's with the nbk references ─ twice in consecutive posts?
FWIW, rumour recently had it that he had passed away in a prison hospital . . .
And quite a few of his former R.S. 'associates' seem to believe he was set-up!
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