Abstract: This invention relates to a process for preparing chlorine from HCl and a method of using liquid HCl to cool and optionally liquefy chlorine in the process. The process involves introducing at least one HCl-containing stream and an oxygen-containing stream into an oxidation zone and catalytically oxidizing the HCl to chlorine, contacting the chlorine with aqueous HCl with partial separation of water and HCl to yield a gas stream, drying the gas stream to yield an essentially water-free gas stream, which is compressed and cooled to give an at least partially liquefied stream, and separating the liquefied stream into a gas stream and a liquid stream which is separated into a chlorine stream, such that cooling and partial liquefaction of the gas stream is effected by indirect heat exchange with a liquid HCl stream, resulting in some of the liquid HCl stream vaporizing to form a gaseous HCl stream.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for separating chlorine from a gas stream I comprising oxygen and chlorine, in which the gas stream I is fed into a lower part of a column K1 and a separately provided liquid, hydrogen chloride stream II is fed into an upper part of the same column and the ascending gaseous stream I is brought into contact with the descending liquid stream II, with chlorine condensing out from the stream I and hydrogen chloride vaporizing from the stream II to give an essentially chlorine-free gas stream III comprising hydrogen chloride and oxygen and a liquid stream IV comprising chlorine.