text: Oxychlorination is employed in the conversion of ethylene into vinyl chloride.  In the first step in this process, ethylene undergoes oxychlorination to give ethylene chloride:
  :CH=CH  +  2 HCl  +  ½ O    →    ClCHCHCl  +  HO
  Oxychlorination is of special importance in the making of 1,2-dichloroethane, which is then converted into vinyl chloride. As can be seen in the following reaction, 1,2-dichloroethane is cracked: 
  :ClCHCHCl    →   CH=CHCl  +  HCl
  The HCl from this cracking process is recycled by oxychlorination in order to reduce the consumption of raw material HCl (or Cl, if direct chlorination of ethylene is chosen as main way to produce 1,2-dichloroethane).
  Iron(III) chloride is produced commercially by oxychlorination (and other methods).  For example, dissolution of iron ores in hydrochloric acid gives a mixture of ferrous and ferric chlorides:
  The iron(II) chloride is converted to the iron(III) derivative by treatment with oxygen and hydrochloric acid: