How is PVC manufactured?
The PVC Manufacturing Process The basic chemicals utilized in manufacturing PVC – ethylene and chlorine – are derived from materials nature provides. Ethylene is made from crude oil or natural gas and chlorine is made from salt. These gases are chemically reacted to form ethylene dichloride (EDC). The EDC is heated, or cracked producing two gases, hydrogen chloride (HCl) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). Vinyl chloride monomer is the basic building block used in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride. The term poly means many. PVC is simply many molecules of vinyl chloride. A chemical reaction called polymerization is used to convert VCM into PVC resin. This is accomplished by making VCM react with itself to form a powdery white solid material – PVC resin. Once PVC resin is produced it cannot revert back to VCM. Much the same as cooking an egg – once cooked, it cannot return to its original, raw state. PVC resin is blended with a wide variety of ingredients such as stabilizers, coloring
The PVC Manufacturing Process The basic chemicals utilized in manufacturing PVC – ethylene and chlorine – are derived from materials nature provides. Ethylene is made from crude oil or natural gas and chlorine is made from salt. These gases are chemically reacted to form ethylene dichloride (EDC). The EDC is heated, or cracked producing two gases, hydrogen chloride (HCl) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). Vinyl chloride monomer is the basic building block used in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride. The term poly means many. PVC is simply many molecules of vinyl chloride. A chemical reaction called polymerization is used to convert VCM into PVC resin. This is accomplished by making VCM react with itself to form a powdery white solid material – PVC resin. Once PVC resin is produced it cannot revert back to VCM. Much the same as cooking an egg – once cooked, it cannot return to its original, raw state. PVC resin is blended with a wide variety of ingredients such as stabilizers, coloring
The PVC manufacturing process: Ethylene and chlorine, nature-derived materials, are the basic chemicals utilized in manufacturing PVC. Ethylene is made from crude oil and natural gas; chlorine is made from salt. These gasses are chemically reacted to form ethylene dichloride (EDC). The EDC is heated (or cracked) to produce two gasses: hydrogen chloride (HCl) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). Vinyl chloride monomer is the basic building block used to manufacture poly vinyl chloride. The term poly means many. [This polymer is formed when] simple molecules, called monomers, are chained together to form a more complex molecule or polymer. Polymerization is the chemical reaction used to convert VCM into PVC resin. The PVC resin is blended with additives (such as stabilizers, pigments, processing aids, UV inhibitors and plasticizers) to produce powder- and pellet-form compounds—from rigid PVC pipe (having no plasticizers) to very flexible products (including upholstery and wall coverings).
