Cradle to Consumer
Identity ID
2c60764b-babd-4ee7-ac99-c57d026222be
Materials
Associated ID
34a21d00-3253-4d50-8067-0c9957e9ba10
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
This is a market dataset representing the consumption market in the region. It includes transportation of the product from the factory gate to consumption, with transport services calculated according to the regional transportation conditions for the product.
Activity Description
Vinyl chloride is produced by chlorinating ethylene in the liquid phase. The process includes catalytic reaction (ethylene, hydrogen chloride, and oxygen react in the presence of a catalyst to produce dichloroethane and water), high-temperature pyrolysis (dichloroethane undergoes pyrolysis at high temperature to generate vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride), and hydrogen chloride recovery.
Process Description
Vinyl chloride is an organic compound with the chemical formula C2H2Cl2, existing as cis and trans isomers. However, a mixture of these isomers is generally used. It is a colorless, transparent liquid that is insoluble in water but soluble in most organic solvents such as ethanol and diethyl ether. It can be used as an extractant, refrigerant, and also as a solvent in the production of plastics and organic synthesis.
Time period
2019
2026
Geography
China,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
Ethylene is chlorinated in the liquid phase, typically using ferric chloride as a catalyst to drive the reaction, producing vinyl chloride. Direct chlorination is an exothermic reaction requiring temperature control through heat removal. The crude product from the reactor is purified by distillation to obtain ethylene dichloride. Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is almost exclusively produced via thermal cracking (dehydrochlorination) of ethylene dichloride, which is fed into a cracker unit. Hydrogen chloride (HCl) is separated from VCM by fractionation under non-cryogenic conditions. The HCl generated in this process is recycled back to the oxychlorination reaction, and any unreacted ethylene dichloride is separated from impurities.