Vinyl Chloride Monomer Production

These processes are shown in figure 1.

Vinyl chloride monomer production.

Vinyl chloride monomer vcm is one of the world s most important and largest commodity chemicals. Vcm is used primarily for the production of polyvinyl chloride pvc homopolymer and copolymer resins. Vinyl chloride also known as vinyl chloride monomer vcm and chloroethene is an organochloride compound. The five main processes used in the production of vinyl chloride monomer vcm are.

Vinyl chloride is an organochloride with the formula h 2 c chcl that is also called vinyl chloride monomer vcm or chloroethene. Vinyl chloride monomer vinyl chloride was first produced in 1835 but did not go into regular production until the early twentieth century. Vinyl chloride monomer vcm production vinyl chloride monomer vcm is the key material from which pvc is made. Global production capacity of vinyl chloride monomer 2018 2023 published by m.

1 direct chlorination of ethylene to form edc 2 oxychlorination of ethylene to form from recycled hcl and oxygen 3 purification of edc 4 thermal cracking of edc to form vcm and hcl and 5 the purification of vcm. About 13 billion kilograms are produced annually. Vinyl chloride has been used in the past as an anaesthetic and as an aerosol spray propellant but its principle use has been to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride pvc or vinyl. Garside nov 6 2019 the global production capacity of vinyl chloride monomer vcm is expected to increase from.

This colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride pvc. Emulsion polymerization accounts for about 12 and bulk polymerization accounts for 8. Vinyl chloride monomer vcm production and manufacturing process commercial production of vcm started in the 1920s based on the catalytic hydrochlorination of acetylene but this route suffered from high energy costs and has become obsolete except for china. About 80 of production involves suspension polymerization.

More than half of the total vcm consumption is for construction related applications with pipe being the largest single product. The largest use for vinyl chloride monomer is in the production of polyvinyl chloride pvc homopolymer and copolymer resins. At room temperature vcm is a gas with a sweet ethereal odor but in industrial processes it is most often handled as a liquid melting point 13 c.