Ethylene dichloride (EDC) is a clear, colourless, oily liquid with a sweet, pleasant chloroform-like odour. It is highly volatile, toxic, flammable and miscible with chlorinated hydrocarbons and most organic solvents. It reacts violently with aluminium, alkali metals, alkali amides, ammonia, bases, strong oxidants and attacks many metals in presence of water.

Around 95% of EDC is used in the production of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), nearly all of which goes into polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Other outlets for EDC are chlorinated solvents such as ethyleneamines, trichloroethylene, vinylidene chloride and trichloroethane. It is used as an intermediate in the production of perchloroethylene (tetrachloroethylene) and as a catalyst in hexachlorophene production.

EDC has been used as a solvent in the textile, metal cleaning and adhesives industries. Solvent markets tend to be mature due to environmental pressures to reduce emissions and declining in the case of perchloroethylene.

Ethylene dichloride (EDC) is a clear, colourless, oily liquid with a sweet, pleasant chloroform-like odour. It is highly volatile, toxic, flammable and miscible with chlorinated hydrocarbons and most organic solvents. It reacts violently with aluminium, alkali metals, alkali amides, ammonia, bases, strong oxidants and attacks many metals in presence of water.

Around 95% of EDC is used in the production of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), nearly all of which goes into polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Other outlets for EDC are chlorinated solvents such as ethyleneamines, trichloroethylene, vinylidene chloride and trichloroethane. It is used as an intermediate in the production of perchloroethylene (tetrachloroethylene) and as a catalyst in hexachlorophene production.

EDC has been used as a solvent in the textile, metal cleaning and adhesives industries. Solvent markets tend to be mature due to environmental pressures to reduce emissions and declining in the case of perchloroethylene.