From the beginning until the 1960s, chloroprene was produced by the older
“acetylene process”. This process has the disadvantages of being very energy intensive
and having high investment costs. The modern chloroprene process, which
is now used by nearly all producers, is based on butadiene, which is readily available.
Butadiene is converted into the monomer 2-chlorobutadiene-1,3 (chloroprene) via
3,4-dichlorobutene-1.