# Vinyl chloride monomer

Vinyl chloride monomer is the gas polymerised into PVC; it is made from ethylene and chlorine, or in China from coal-based acetylene.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/

Commodity chemicals · Derivatives & intermediates · No. 39

- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Minerals and salts
- about 47 Mt a year (2024-2025, indicative: in line with PVC output)
- 3.5 t CO₂e per t
- HS 290321
 Commodity chemicals · Derivatives & intermediates · Foundation · Matter

The gas behind India's water pipes is over half chlorine, and in China often made from coal with a mercury catalyst.

Chart: Illustration: Vinyl chloride monomer

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Outside China, ethylene and chlorine make ethylene dichloride, which is cracked at about 500 C; the HCl released is recycled. China leans on acetylene from coal-based calcium carbide.

##### Three things to know

1. More than 99% of vinyl chloride goes into PVC, so its fortunes are really PVC's fortunes.
2. Roughly 70% of China's VCM comes from coal via calcium carbide and a mercury catalyst.
3. India had only 1.6-1.8 Mt of PVC capacity against about 4.1 Mt of demand in 2025, so it imports VCM and PVC.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Ethylene, chlorine**0.47 t ethylene, 0.58 t chlorine
2. 2 **EDC**Chlorination and oxychlorination make dichloride
3. 3 **Cracking**Gas furnaces at about 500 C
4. 4 **VCM gas**Stored as pressurised liquid
5. 5 **PVC**Mostly suspension polymerisation, about 90%
 Covered in [From building blocks to plastics, fibres and detergentsChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/building-blocks-to-polymers/)[Scale, capacity and feedstock: which chemical plants get builtChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/scale-capacity-feedstock/)

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/links/index.md)