The final product of the polymerization process is PVC in either a flake or pellet form. Vinyl chloride liquid is fed to polymerization reactors where it is converted from a monomeric VCM to a polymeric PVC. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is very stable, storable, and nowhere near as acutely toxic as the vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). Due to the hazardous nature of vinyl chloride to human health there are no end products that use vinyl chloride in its monomer form. Vinyl chloride is a chemical intermediate, not a final product. 2.2 Thermal decomposition of dichloroethane.In the past VCM was used as a refrigerant. Vinyl chloride is a common contaminant found near landfills. Vinyl chloride that is released by industries or formed by the breakdown of other chlorinated chemicals can enter the air and drinking water supplies. It can be formed in the environment when soil organisms break down chlorinated solvents. It is highly toxic, flammable, and carcinogenic. Vinyl chloride is a gas with a sweet odor. China is also a large manufacturer and one of the largest consumers of VCM. The United States currently remains the largest VCM manufacturing region because of its low-production-cost position in chlorine and ethylene raw materials.
VCM is among the top twenty largest petrochemicals ( petroleum-derived chemicals) in world production. About 13 billion kilograms are produced annually. This colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Vinyl chloride is an organochloride with the formula H 2C=CHCl that is also called vinyl chloride monomer ( VCM) or chloroethene.