The PVC Manufacturing Process 

The basic chemicals utilized in manufacturing PVC – ethylene and chlorine – are derived from materials nature provides.  Ethylene is made from crude oil or natural gas and chlorine is made from salt.  These gases are chemically reacted to form ethylene dichloride (EDC).  The EDC is heated, or cracked producing two gases, hydrogen chloride (HCl) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).

Vinyl chloride monomer is the basic building block used in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride.  The term poly means many.  PVC is simply many molecules of vinyl chloride.

A chemical reaction called polymerization is used to convert VCM into PVC resin.  This is accomplished by making VCM react with itself to form a powdery white solid material – PVC resin.

Once PVC resin is produced it cannot revert back to VCM.  Much the same as cooking an egg – once cooked, it cannot return to its original, raw state.