EDC in PVC Production

The manufacturing of the PVC that carries our water, insulates our power cables, and lines our kitchen floors is a sensitive process. Ethylene dichloride (EDC) is the first intermediate in the manufacturing of the versatile plastic from raw materials (C2H4 and Cl2). While useful on its own as a strong solvent, 90% of the EDC produced is dedicated to making vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), the chemical precursor to PVC.

Heated to 500 °C in a cracking furnace, EDC splits into VCM and recyclable HCl; the products are quickly cooled to avoid recombination, after which unreacted EDC is returned to the furnace. Sometimes the EDC entering the furnace contains a bit of ferric chloride (FeCl3), a catalyst used to chlorinate ethylene in the making of EDC; this contamination is far from trivial, as trace FeCl3 is known to clog the cracking furnace and foul various mechanisms. Additionally, PVC made from EDC with impurities-typically low levels of FeCl3 and chlorine-is less useful than high-quality PVC and fails to meet customer needs. Read more...

Semiconductor Chemistry

Semiconductor fabs are among the most strictly regulated manufacturing environments found in any industry. When so much care is taken to prevent silicon wafer contamination and avoid scrap, more attention should be paid to the integrity of the chemicals that wafers interact with throughout production.

Monitoring applications include CMP slurry health, NH3 and H2O2 in SC-1, hydroflouric acid in etching baths, metal ions, and more. As little as 1% dilution error in some of these solutions has been shown to noticeably decrease wafer yield. Read more...

ADIPEC 2010, Abu Dhabi

AAI will be at ADIPEC from November 1-4. Join us at Booth # 07006, where we'll be demonstrating an array of analyzers and sampling systems. Visitors can enjoy complimentary AAI mugs, tools, and unannounced giveaways.

If you would like to schedule an appointment or a private demonstration, please contact Amy or Muthu below:

Amy Barnett (headquarters)

Muthu Govindan (Sharjah office)

+971-2-6766366 x102

Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference

We'd like to thank everyone who joined AAI and Pensalab at the conference last month in Rio de Janeiro. It was an exciting show and a pleasure meeting those that came by the booth. If you enjoyed our Tail Gas demonstration and are interested to learn more, check out the TLG-837 on our website.