PVC
Polyvinyl chloride: the chlorine-based plastic of pipes, window frames, cables and flooring, and India's most import-dependent commodity polymer.
Pseudo-commodities · Commodity plastics · No. 49
- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Minerals and salts
- about 47 Mt a year (2023, derived: S&P Global puts world PVC use at 13 lb (about 5.9 kg) per person in 2023, x 8.0 billion people; in line with the VCM tile)
- 3.7 t CO₂e per t
- HS 390410
PVC is 57% chlorine from common salt, and India imports about 3 Mt of the 4.55 Mt it uses.
Chart: Illustration: PVC
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Chlorine from salt meets ethylene, or acetylene from coal-based calcium carbide, to make vinyl chloride. This is polymerised in water into a white powder.
Three things to know
- India uses about 4.55 Mt of PVC a year but has only about 1.6 Mt of capacity, so it imports about 3 Mt.
- Carbide-route PVC, mostly in China, can emit 6-10 t of CO2e per tonne against about 2 t on the ethylene route.
- US export PVC hit a five-year low of $630 a tonne while suspension PVC CFR India was $720 in February 2026.
The journey
- 1 SaltElectrolysis: 1.75 t salt per tonne chlorine
- 2 VCMFrom ethylene or coal-based calcium carbide
- 3 SuspensionBatch reactors at 50-70 C
- 4 CompoundingStabilisers, fillers, up to 40% plasticiser
- 5 ConversionPipes, window profiles, flooring, cable
- 6 Long lifePipes and frames last decades