Platinum catalyst makes PVC production greener and cheaper

Good news!

"‘More than half of the mercury produced worldwide is used as a catalyst in vinyl chloride production,’ ... ‘A great deal of it, around 40 tons annually, evaporates and ends up contaminating the atmosphere"

"The preparation of the catalyst is straightforward. ‘We deposit the platinum impregnating activated carbon in an aqueous solution of chloroplatinic acid,’ ... Platinum atoms stay anchored to the carbon’s pores, and the catalyst was then activated by heating it. ... ‘To my knowledge, this is the first report of a highly active and stable platinum catalyst used for the synthesis of vinyl chloride"
Apparently, this catalytic process is not simple or easy!

Platinum makes PVC production greener and cheaper | Research | Chemistry World: A new single-atom catalyst could replace toxic mercury in the manufacture of vinyl chloride