Dichloroethane

About Dichloroethane

Dichloroethane, also known as ethylene dichloride (EDC), glycol dichloride, or Dutch oil, is a flammable organic compound with a chemical formula of C₂H₄Cl₂. It is an oily hydrocarbon, colorless, with a pleasant chloroform smell and sweet taste; it has only limited solubility in water, dissolves in alcohol, chloroform, ether, acid, and most solvents in general, and has high solvency for fats, greases, and waxes. It is found stable at room temperature but tends to decompose when exposed to air, moisture, and light, creating hydrochloric acid and other corrosive products. 1,2-Dichloroethane is a toxic compound due to its high vapor pressure, especially by inhalation.

EDC is not found naturally in the environment; it is a man-made liquid produced from chlorine, a compound that is obtained by the electrochemical conversion of hydrochloric acid. Ethylene dichloride is chemically manufactured by two commercial methods: direct chlorination and oxychlorination. Due to its chemical properties, large amounts of 1,2-dichloroethane produced today are mainly used to make other chemical products and also utilized as a solvent.

Common Uses and Applications

• Raw material
• Solvent
• Grease metal remover
• Cleaning and pesticides agent
• Oil seeds extractor
• Fumigation agent
• Amine carrier in leaching copper ores
• Scavenger for lead in gasoline
• Paint, varnish, and finish remover
• Cloth cleaner
• Oils, fats, waxes, and resins remover
• Laboratory reagent
• Wetting agent

Industries

• Vinyl Chloride (a variety of plastics products and automobile and furniture parts)
• Chemical
• Cleaning And Pesticides
• Construction (Cement)
• Paints and Coating
• Adhesives (glue wallpaper or carpeting)
• Pharmaceutical
• Gas
• Textile
• Metal