ETHYLENE DICHLORIDE (EDC) HANDBOOK
ETHYLENEDICHLORIDE(EDC)HANDBOOKOXYCHEMTECHNICAL INFORMATION11/2014
Dallas-based Occidental Chemical Corporation is a leading North Americanmanufacturer of basic chemicals, vinyls and performance chemicals directly andthrough various affiliates (collectively, OxyChem). OxyChem is also North America'slargest producer of sodium chlorite.As a Responsible Care company, OxyChem's global commitment to safety and theenvironment goes well beyond compliance. OxyChem's Health, Environment andSafety philosophy is a positive motivational force for our employees, and helps create astrong culture for protecting human health and the environment. Our risk managementprograms and methods have been, and continue to be, recognized as some of theindustry's best.OxyChem offers an effective combination of industry expertise, experience, on linebusiness tools, quality products and exceptional customer service. As a member of theOccidental Petroleum Corporation family, OxyChem represents a rich history ofexperience, top-notch business acumen, and sound, ethical business practices.1
Table of ContentsPageIntroduction to Ethylene Dichloride . 3Manufacturing . 3Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) — Uses . 4Specifications and Product Grades . 4Safety and First Aid . 4Hazards . 4Respiratory Protection . 5Safety Precautions . 6First Aid . 7Toxicity . 8Regulatory . 8US Environmental Protection Agency . 8US Food and Drug Administration. 9World Health Organization . 9Handling and Storage . 9Shipping . 9Barge . 9Tank Trailers . 10Tank Cars . 10Storage & Equipment . 11Maintenance of Storage Facilities . 14Spills and Precautions . 15Technical Data . 16Product Sampling . 16Physical Properties . 16Graphs . 17Density v. Temperature . 17Vapor Pressure v. Temperature . 18Solubility of Water in EDC v. Temperature . 192
MANUFACTURINGThe chemical compound 1,2-dichloroethane,commonly known as ethylene dichloride (EDC), is achlorinated hydrocarbon, mainly used to producevinyl chloride monomer (VCM, chloroethene), themajor precursor for PVC production. It is a colorlessliquid with a chloroform-like odor.Ethylenedichloride is also used generally as an intermediatefor other organic chemical compounds, and as asolvent.Ethylene dichloride is produced through the iron(III)chloride catalyzed reaction of ethene (ethylene) andchlorine.In subsequent reactions, notably to vinyl chloride(chloroethene), hydrogen chloride is formed and reused in a copper(II) chloride catalyzed reaction, toalso produce 1,2-dichloroethane from ethene andoxygen.H2C CH2 2 HCl ½ O2 Cl-CH2-CH2-Cl H2OOxyChem uses both reactions to manufacture EDC,the first is a direct chlorination reaction (see Figure1) and the second is an oxychlorination reaction (seeFigure 2). Many licenses for variations of each typeof process exist today. Figure 1 and 2 are generalprocess descriptions for each type of reaction.H2C CH2 Cl2 Cl-CH2-CH2-ClFigure 1: Direct Chlorination Reaction3
Figure 2: Oxychlorination Reactionproducts in food, feed, or pharmaceutical relatedapplications and to determine whether appropriateregulatory requirements are being met. OxyChemTechnical Grade EDC meets the MilitarySpecification MIL-D-10662-D which was replaced byASTM D5960-03. OxyChem also manufacturesEDC at its Convent, LA plant. Product manufacturedat Convent, LA is marketed as Finished GradeEthylene Dichloride with a purity of greater than99.9% by weight.ETHYLENE DICHLORIDE USESEDC is used primarily as a raw material in themanufacture of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). Thevinyl chloride, in turn is used to manufacture polyvinylchloride (PVC) resin. EDC is also used as anintermediate in the manufacture of chlorinated andfluorinated compounds.EDC has been used as a solvent in the textile, metalcleaning and adhesive industries.OxyChem's Technical Services Department canprovide more product information. Call or write theSPECIFICATIONS AND PRODUCTGRADESTechnical Services DepartmentOxyChemP.O. Box 12283, Wichita, KS 67277-2283800-733-1165, Ext.1.OxyChem produces and markets Technical GradeEthylene Dichloride at the Geismar, LA facility with aminimum purity of 99.9% by weight. Materialproduced and shipped from OxyChem’s Geismar, LAplant conforms to the chemical testing requirementsof several industrial standards such as the GeneralUse EDC for the ACS Specifications for ReagentthChemicals, 10 Edition; the Food Chemicals Codex,th8 Edition. The manufacturing process for EDCdoes not incorporate all of the measures specified inthe Food and Drug Administration’s current GoodManufacturing Practices (cGMP).It is theresponsibility of the user to assess their use of EDCSAFETY AND FIRST AIDHazardsEDC is a flammable, toxic chemical and should behandled with extreme care. Personnel should beproperly trained in the handling of EDC and shouldalways wear the proper protective equipment whenworking with, and around EDC.All users4
overexposure due to the inhalation of vapors abovethe OSHA PEL.The Occupational Safety and Health Association(OSHA) has established Permissible ExposureLimits (PEL) of 50 ppm. The PEL is the allowableaverage concentration to which workers may beexposed, 8 hours per day, five days a week, withoutadverse effects. OSHA has also established a ShortTerm Exposure Limit (STEL) of 100 ppm ceiling forEDC, which is a 15 minute average exposure thatshould not be exceeded. Also OSHA has establisheda Peak (5 minutes in any 3 hour period) of 200 ppm.Likewise, the American Conference of GovernmentalIndustrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has establishedThreshold Limit Values (TLV) of 10 ppm for thisproduct. Work areas employing EDC should beisolated and contained. A local exhaust shouldprovide adequate ventilation to limit solvent vapors tobelow exposure limits.It is recommended that employees be provided withand required to use chemical impervious clothing,gloves, boots, splash proof goggles and otherappropriate protective clothing necessary to preventany possibility of skin contact with EDC. Materialtypes which may be considered for this serviceinclude fire resistant clothing, Barricade, Teflon,Viton, PE/EVAL, CPF3, Responder , and Tychem .Face shields can augment protection provided bysplash-proof goggles and safety glasses, but are notintended to replace these safety appliances. (SeeFigure 3)Respiratory ProtectionOSHA requires that employees using respiratorsshould be properly fitted and trained in their use.Basically there are 3 types of respirators:1. Escape: In areas where the unexpected releaseof EDC vapors may lead to potentially dangerousexposure, appropriate escape respirators should becarried by or be readily accessible to each employee.The most common respirator used for this purposeis the mouthpiece respirator.This respiratorcontains a single cartridge with a mouthpiece andnose clip. Employees should only use this respiratorwhen escape times are short and airborneconcentrations of EDC vapors are low. (See Figure4)Figure 3: Personal Protective Equipmentshould read the proper Material Safety Data Sheet(MSDS) before handling EDC. The primary healthhazard associated with the use of EDC is5
conditions should be made to determine theappropriate cartridge/canister replacement schedule.3. Self-contained Breathing Apparatus:Selfcontained breathing apparatus (SCBA) can providerespiratory protection in an oxygen-deficientenvironment and in situations where unknownconcentrations of EDC vapors are present. TheSCBA can also provide protection in emergencysituations. (See Figure 6)Figure 4: Mouthpiece Respirator(Escape Only)The SCBA is an atmosphere-supplying respirator forwhich the breathing air source is designed to becarried by the user (OSHA definition). A full-facemask is always used with this type of apparatus.OSHA requires that when wearing the SCBA in anImmediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH)atmosphere, the SCBA must be operated in thepressure demand mode and be certified by NIOSHfor a minimum service life of thirty minutes. EscapeSCBA devices are commonly used with full facepieces or hoods and, depending on the supply of air,are usually rated as 3 to 60 minute units.2. Air Purifying Respirators:Air purifyingrespirators contain cartridges or canisters ofabsorbent or reactive material to remove harmfulgases from breathing air. These respirators areavailable as either half face or full-face units. ForEDC service, use a cartridge or canister designed forEDC service. (See Figure 5)Where vapor concentration exceeds or is likely toexceed OSHA or NIOSH recommended ExposureLevels, a cartridge or canister respirator should beused. NIOSH has set a 1 ppm eight hour timeweighted average for EDC and a 2 ppm fifteenminute short term exposure limit. When working inenvironments where airborne concentrations areirritating to the eyes, full-face piece respiratorsshould be used. Cartridge or canister respirators arestrictly air-purifying devices and must never be usedin an oxygen deficient atmosphere (less than 19.5%oxygen by volume), in environments immediatelydangerous to life or health (IDLH), or areascontaining unknown concentrations of EDC theNIOSH limit is set at 50 ppm.Figure 6: Self-Contained Breathing ApparatusOSHA requires that all respirators must be NIOSHapproved and shall use breathing gas containersmarked in accordance with the NIOSH respiratorcertification standard, 42 CFR part 84. For furtherinformation on regulations pertaining to respiratorequipment, see 29 CFR 1910.134 and 30 CFR §57.5005For additional information see DHHS(NIOSH) Publication No. 2005-100, NIOSHRespirator Selection Logic 2004 or Publication No.87-116, NIOSH Guide to Industrial RespiratoryProtection.Figure 5: Full Face Air Purifying RespiratorIt is important to remember that cartridges andcanisters have a limited service life. Conditions suchas humidity, chemical concentrations in theworkplace, other chemicals in the workplace, andfrequency of use will affect cartridge and canisterservice life. Therefore, an evaluation of workplaceSafety PrecautionsIn the absence of air and water, EDC is stable to160 C (320 F). In contact with air or water it is6
subject to very slow hydrolysis or oxidation, eitherreaction offers the possibility of the formation of traceamounts of HCl. This can lead to discoloration instorage tanks. EDC can be stored in vessels madeof common materials of construction, exceptaluminum, magnesium, zinc, and their alloys.First AidEye Contact - Direct contact of EDC with the eyeswill result in pain, watering, and inflammation. Toprevent eye contact, protective eye wear (such assplash goggles, a full face shield, or safety glasseswith side shields) must be worn. If eyes come incontact with EDC, hold the eyelids apart and flushthe eye gently with a large amount of lukewarmwater for at least 15 minutes, forcibly holding eyelidsapart to ensure complete irrigation of all eye and lidtissues. Washing eyes within several seconds isessential to achieve maximum effectiveness. GETMEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY.Avoid contact with pure oxygen, strong alkalis, alkalimetals, open flames and welding arcs, or other hightemperature sources which induce thermaldecomposition to irritating and corrosive HCl.EDC is extremely flammable with a ―Tag ClosedCup‖ flash point of 13 C (55.4 F). This solvent mustbe stored in a National Fire Prevention Association(NFPA) Class I area. Proper grounding and bondingprocedures should be followed.Skin Contact - Prolonged exposure of the skin toEDC will remove the skin’s natural oils, causing theaffected area to become red, rough and dry. Ifexposure continues, the EDC may produce a burningsensation. Prolonged contact with EDC can causecontact dermatitis. To prevent irritation, wearprotective clothing (including gloves) when workingwith EDC. If skin comes in contact with EDC,immediately wash exposed skin with plenty of waterwhile removing contaminated clothing, jewelry andshoes. Wash clothing and thoroughly clean shoesbefore reuse.GET MEDICAL ATTENTIONIMMEDIATELY.Dry chemical, carbon dioxide, foam, water fog orspray should be used to extinguish fires. Water maybe ineffective, but should be used to keep fireexposed containers cool.Safety showers and eye wash fountains should belocated in the immediate work area and clearlymarked. These units should be tested on a regularbasis. Portable or temporary systems are available.Every precaution should be taken to ensure that asuitable system is in place and operational beforehandling EDC. Only trained and properly protectedpersonnel should be allowed to enter areas whereEDC is present. ANSI Standard Z358.1 containsplacement and performance criteria for emergencyeyewash and shower equipment.Inhalation – Overexposure to vapors may result indizziness, drowsiness, depression, headache,nausea, mental dullness, loss of coordination, or inextreme cases, death.To avoid overexposure to EDC vapors, monitor theEDC vapor concentration in the work place. If vaporsare found above the OSHA PEL, install engineeringcontrols (such as localized ventilation) to reduceEDC vapor concentrations to a safe operating level.In areas where the concentrations of EDC vaporsare either unknown or cannot be maintained belowthe limits, workers must be equipped with NIOSHapproved respirators as per the OSHA RespiratoryProtection standard.Before entering tanks or opening pipelines that havecontained EDC, they should be completely emptiedand checked for vapors before entering. Do notenter a confined space (which includes tanks or pits)without following proper entry procedures such as 29CFR 1910.146.Good housekeeping practices are important whereethylene dichloride is used. If a ethylene dichlorideleak occurs, evacuate the area and eliminate allignition sources. Response personnel should wearself-containedbreathingairand protectiveequipment to prevent contact with vapor, liquid orhazardous decomposition products.If EDC is inhaled, remove individual touncontaminated area. Give artificial respiration if notbreathing. If breathing is difficult, oxygen should beadministered by qualified personnel. If respiration orpulse has stopped, have a trained person tation/Automatic External Defibrillator) andCALLFOREMERGENCYSERVICESIMMEDIATELY.In all cases, explosion-proof ventilation should beprovided to keep concentrations below explosivelimits.See Page 15 of this handbook for specificrecommendations on spills and precautions.7
Ingestion – Accidental ingestion of EDC may resultin irritation of the gastrointestinal tract, nausea,vomiting, diarrhea, unconsciousness and death.EDC is a liver and kidney poison. Proper labeling,handling and storage of EDC will reduce thelikelihood of accidental ingestion. If ingestion occurs,never give anything by mouth to an unconscious orconvulsive person. If swallowed, do not inducevomiting. If vomiting occurs spontaneously, keepairway clear. Do not give fluids. GET MEDICALATTENTION IMMEDIATELY.if swallowed, nausea, vomiting, central nervoussystem effects, absorption may occurEDC is classified by NTP as an Anticipated HumanCarcinogen; and by IARC as a Human InadequateEvidence, Animal Sufficient Evidence, Group 2Bcarcinogen.REGULATORYThe following is a summary of regulations andsources that may pertain to EDC.NOTE TO PHYSICIAN: This material is anaspiration hazard. Risk of aspiration must beweighed against possible toxicity of the material (seeingestion) when determining whether to induceemesis or to perform gastric lavage. This metic amines. Epinephrine and othersympathomimetic drugs may initiate cardiacarrhythmias in individuals exposed to this material.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Act: EDC is included on the Clean AirAct, Section 112(b) list of Hazardous Air Pollutants.http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/ Clean Water Act: Water Quality Criteria Based on fish/shellfish and waterconsumption 0.38 µg/L Based on fish/shellfishconsumption only 37µg/Lhttp://www.epa.gov/water/ Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation, and Liability Act: Releases of EDCin excess of the Reportable Quantity of 100 poundsmust be reported.http://www.ep
EDC is a flammable, toxic chemical and should be handled with extreme care. Personnel should be properly trained in the handling of EDC and should always wear the proper protective equipment when working with, and around EDC. All users
models of the thermal cracking process of Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) to produce Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) at Abu-Kammash Chemical Complex. The developed design was set against the amount of heat saved. In addition, Both EDC cracking units ( old and new design) were . Exergy Analysis of Ethylene Dichloride Cracking Unit at Abu-Kammash Chemical .
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO ETHYLENE DICHLORIDE (1,2 - DICHLOROETHANE ) . Medical 2 Section 3 - Labeling (Posting) 3 . Ethylene Dichloride 7 Section 6 - Work Practices 8 Section 7 - Monitoring and Recordkeeping 11 II. INTRODUCTION 14 III. BIOLOGIC EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE Extent of Exposure 16 Historical Reports 18 Effects on Humans 21
chemicals and it is produced mainly by the cracking of ethylene dichloride (EDC). By-products formation is inevitable, creating several inefficiencies, and accurate model of the process is essential for its optimization In the present work, an EDC cracker model was set-up using the furnace
Jan 27, 2005 · The Ethylene Oxide Product Stewardship Guidance Manual was prepared by the American Chemistry Council’s Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene Glycols Panel (Panel). It is intended to provide general information to persons who may handle or store ethylene oxide. It is not i
quire ethylene in quantities of 100 103 – 200 103 t/a only and ethylene supply from standalone crackers of this size is not feasible in most cases. 2. Physical Properties Ethylene is a colorless flammable gas with a sweet odor. The physical properties of ethylene are as follows: mp
Ethylene can be converted to vinyl chloride in a single stage, i.e., without isolating the intermediate ethylene dichloride by either chlorination or oxychlorination routes, as is the case with the balanced ethylene route. Direct chlorination routes require a high temperature and a large excess of e
Abstract: In this study, phosphorus polyols, having a molecular weight of 880 to 1,560 g/mol, were synthesized by reacting phenylphosphonic dichloride (PPDC), allylphosphonic dichloride (APDC), and ethylene glycol (EG) in solvent, to enhance flame retardance of polyurethane.
Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education w.e.f. 2015-16 (Revised in April, 2016) B.A./B.Sc. FIRST YEAR MATHEMATICS SYLLABUS SEMESTER –I, PAPER - 1 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS 60 Hrs UNIT – I (12 Hours), Differential Equations of first order and first degree : Linear Differential Equations; Differential Equations Reducible to Linear Form; Exact Differential Equations; Integrating Factors .
