The reaction characteristics of two-step oxychlorination to produce 1,2-dichloroethane as a feedstock of PVC production were determined in a fluidized bed reactor. The effects of superficial gas velocity and gas composition on the reactivity and fluidization stability have been determined to find the optimum operating conditions in the continuous fluidized bed reactor system. It has been found that the average ethylene conversion is 94% with ethylene dichloride (EDC) selectivity of 97-98%, the average HCl conversion is 97.4%, the solid reactant conversion is 54% and a solid inventory ratio for the optimum reaction conversion is 3.3 in the process. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.