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CAS NUMBER: 79-01-6
EC NUMBER: 201-167-4
MOLECULAR FORMULA: ClCH=CCl2
MOLECULAR WEIGHT: 131.39
Trichlorethylene is a halocarbon commonly used as an industrial solvent and is effective for a variety of organic materials.
The chemical compound Trichlorethylene is a halocarbon commonly used as an industrial solvent.
Trichlorethylene is a clear, colourless non-flammable liquid with a chloroform-like sweet smell.
Trichlorethylene should not be confused with the similar 1,1,1-trichloroethane, which is commonly known as chlorothene.
The IUPAC name is trichloroethene.
Industrial abbreviations include TCE, trichlor, Trike, Tricky and tri.
Trichlorethylene has been sold under a variety of trade names.
Under the trade names Trimar and Trilene, Trichlorethylene was used as a volatile anesthetic and as an inhaled obstetrical analgesic in millions of patients.
Groundwater and drinking water contamination from industrial discharge including Trichlorethylene is a major concern for human health and has precipitated numerous incidents and lawsuits.
This reaction can be catalyzed by a variety of substances.
The most commonly used Trichlorethylene is a mixture of potassium chloride and aluminum chloride. However, various forms of porous carbon can also be used.
This reaction produces tetrachloroethylene as a byproduct, and depending on the amount of chlorine fed to the reaction, tetrachloroethylene can even be the major product.
Typically, Trichlorethylene and tetrachloroethylene are collected together and then separated by distillation.
Trichlorethylene (TCE) is a chemical that is commonly used as a solvent.
Trichlorethylene is a clear, colorless liquid that has a sweet odor and is highly volatile, meaning that it quickly produces vapors.
The majority (~84 percent) of the 250 million pounds used each year is used in closed systems as an intermediate chemical for manufacturing refrigerant chemicals, ~15 percent as a solvent to remove grease from metal parts – particularly in the automotive industry and metal machining industry, and the remaining small percentage accounts for other uses including use in consumer products.
Consumer products include spray degreasers, lubricants, paints, paint removers, adhesives such as protective coating to finish prints or artwork, and as spot removers and rug-cleaning fluids.
Trichlorethylene (IUPAC), CHClCCl2, is a stable, low-boiling, colorless liquid with a chloroform-like odor.
Trichlorethylene is not corrosive to the common metals even in the presence of moisture.
Trichlorethylene is slightly soluble in water and is nonflammable.
Trichlorethylene is toxic by inhalation, with a TLV of 50 ppm and an IDLH of 1000 ppm in air.
The FDA has prohibited its use in foods, drugs, and cosmetics.
The four-digit UN identification number is 1710. The NFPA 704 designation is health 2, flammability 1, and reactivity 0.
Trichlorethylenes primary uses are in metal degreasing, dry cleaning, as a refrigerant and fumigant, and for drying electronic parts.
Trichlorethylene (TCE) is a clear, colorless, nonflammable (at room temperature) stable toxic liquid with chloroform-like odor (ATSDR, 2011).
Trichlorethylene is slightly soluble in water, is soluble in greases and common organic solvents, and boils at 87°C (190 F).
Trichlorethylene has been in commercial use for almost 60 years.
Trichlorethylene has been used as a solvent because of its powerful ability to dissolve fats, greases, and waxes.
Trichlorethylene has been widely used in the dry cleaning industry and as a metal degreaser and in the electronic components industry where workers have been observed using it as a cleaning solvent without any protective equipment, thus allowing uncontrolled skin contact and inhalation exposures.
Trichlorethylene slowly decomposes and forms phosgene, hydrogen chloride, and dichloroacetyl chloride.
Trichlorethylene in contact with water becomes corrosive and forms dichloroacetic acid and hydrochloric acid.
Trichlorethylene is soluble in methanol, diethyl ether, and acetone.
Trichlorethylene is also known as trichloroethene, acetylene trichloride, 1-chloro-2,2- dichloroethylene, and ethylene trichloride, and it is also commonly abbreviated to TRI.
Trichlorethylene is a volatile, chlorinated organic hydrocarbon that is widely used for degreasing metals and as a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC-134a) intermediate (ATSDR, 2013).
Trichlorethylene is also used in adhesives, paint-stripping formulations, paints, lacquers, and varnishes.
In the 1930s, Trichlorethylene was introduced for use in dry cleaning, but this practice was largely discontinued in the 1950s when TCE was replaced by tetrachloroethylene (PCE).
Trichlorethylene has a number of other past uses in cosmetics, drugs, foods, and pesticides (US EPA, 2011).
Trichlorethylene is an environmental contaminant that has been detected in air, groundwater, surface waters, and soil (US EPA, 2011; NRC, 2006).
USES:
Trichlorethylene is an effective solvent for a variety of organic materials.
When Trichlorethylene was first widely produced in the 1920s, Trichlorethylene's major use was to extract vegetable oils from plant materials such as soy, coconut, and palm.
Other uses in the food industry included coffee decaffeination and the preparation of flavoring extracts from hops and spices.
Trichlorethylene has also been used for removing residual water in the production of 100% ethanol.
From the 1930s through the 1970s, both in Europe and in North America, Trichlorethylene was used as a volatile anesthetic almost invariably administered with nitrous oxide. Marketed in the UK by ICI under the trade name Trilene it was coloured blue (with a dye called waxoline blue) to avoid confusion with the similar smelling chloroform. TCE replaced earlier anesthetics chloroform and ether in the 1940s, but was itself replaced in the 1960s in developed countries with the introduction of halothane, which allowed much faster induction and recovery times and was considerably easier to administer.
Trilene was also used as a potent inhaled analgesic, mainly during childbirth.
Trichlorethylene was used with halothane in the Tri-service field anaesthetic apparatus used by the UK armed forces under field conditions.
As of 2000, however, Trichlorethylene was still in use as an anesthetic in Africa.
Trichlorethylene has also been used as a dry cleaning solvent, although replaced in the 1950s by tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchloroethylene), except for spot cleaning where it was used until 2000.
Trichlorethylene was marketed as 'Ecco 1500 Anti-Static Film Cleaner and Conditioner' until 2009, for use in automatic movie film cleaning machines, and for manual cleaning with lint-free wipes.
Perhaps the greatest use of TCE has been as a degreaser for metal parts.
The demand for TCE as a degreaser began to decline in the 1950s in favor of the less toxic 1,1,1-trichloroethane.
However, 1,1,1-trichloroethane production has been phased out in most of the world under the terms of the Montreal Protocol, and as a result Trichlorethylene has experienced some resurgence in use as a degreaser.
Trichlorethylene has also been used in the United States to clean kerosene-fueled rocket engines (TCE was not used to clean hydrogen-fueled engines such as the Space Shuttle Main Engine).
During static firing, the RP-1 fuel would leave hydrocarbon deposits and vapors in the engine.
These deposits had to be flushed from the engine to avoid the possibility of explosion during engine handling and future firing.
Trichlorethylene was used to flush the engine's fuel system immediately before and after each test firing.
The flushing procedure involved pumping TCE through the engine's fuel system and letting the solvent overflow for a period ranging from several seconds to 30–35 minutes, depending upon the engine.
For some engines, the engine's gas generator and liquid oxygen (LOX) dome were also flushed with TCE prior to test firing.
The F-1 rocket engine had Trichlorethylenes LOX dome, gas generator, and thrust chamber fuel jacket flushed with TCE during launch preparations.
Trichlorethylene is also used in the manufacture of a range of fluorocarbon refrigerants[13] such as 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane more commonly known as HFC 134a.
Trichlorethylene was also used in industrial refrigeration applications due to its high heat transfer capabilities and its low temperature specification.
Many industrial refrigeration applications used Trichlorethylene up to the 1990s in applications such as car testing facilities.
The physical and chemical characteristics of trichlorethylene are discussed together with its uses in industry and medical practice.
Chemical and physical methods of the estimation of trichlorethylene in air have been described, including the use of gas detector tubes, which today is the method most commonly employed.
The metabolism of trichlorethylene was systematically investigated by Butler (1948), who in animals established the identity of the main metabolites appearing in the urine, Powell having also done this in human subjects.
The excretion of these metabolites has since been repeatedly investigated, but the intermediate breakdown products within the body as well as the organ mainly responsible still remain uncertain.
Trichlorethylene (CICH=CCl2) is a colorless liquid with a chloroform-like odor.
Trichlorethylene may cause irritation to the eyes and skin.
Exposure to high concentrations can cause dizziness, headaches, sleepiness, confusion, nausea, unconsciousness, liver damage, and even death.
Trichlorethylene is a known carcingen. Workers may be harmed from exposure to Trichlorethylene.
The level of exposure depends upon the dose, duration, and work being done.
Trichlorethylene is used in many industries. It is mostly used as a solvent to remove grease from metal parts, but it is also an ingredient in adhesives, paint removers, typewriter correction fluids, and spot removers.
Trichlorethylene is used as a solvent, in drycleaning, in degreasing, and in limited use asa surgical anesthetic.
Trichlorethylene is used widely by industry as a metal degreaser.
Trichlorethylene is especially valuable because of its cleaning properties, low flammability, and lack of a measurable flash point.
Trichlorethylene also is used as a chemical process intermediate in fluorochemical and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production.
Trichlorethylene has been used worldwide for more than 70 years.
Trichlorethylene is a colorless, volatile liquid, and is an unsaturated aliphatic halogenated hydrocarbon.
In 1998, U.S. demand was about 171 million pounds (77,700 metric tons) of which about 15 million pounds (6,800 metric tons) were imported.
About 84 million pounds (38,000 metric tons) were exported.
The use of Trichlorethylene in 1999 can be broken down.
High-purity grades of Trichlorethylene are used as a feedstock in the synthesis of the refrigerant hydrofluorocarbon 134a.
In this process, the Trichlorethylene molecule is destroyed to form the new fluorinated compound.
Trichlorethylene's advantages for metal cleaning include the ability to degrease more thoroughly and several times faster than alkaline cleaners, and its compatibility with smaller equipment that consumes less energy.
Trichlorethylene is an important solvent for degreasing aluminum and for cleaning sheet and strip steel prior to galvanizing.
Trichlorethylene also is used for cleaning liquid oxygen and hydrogen tanks.
Commercial Trichlorethylene formulations include a stabilizer system to help prevent solvent breakdown caused by contaminants, such as acids, metal chips, and fines, and exposure to oxygen, light, and heat.
Trichlorethylene is also used as a solvent in some nonflammable adhesive and aerosol formulations, and as a low temperature heat-transfer medium.
Other applications of Trichlorethylene include its use as a solvent in the metal processing, electronics, printing, pulp and paper, and textile industries.
-The main use of Trichlorethylene is in the vapor degreasing of metal parts.
-Trichlorethylene is also used as an extraction solvent for greases, oils, fats, waxes, and tars, a chemical
-intermediate in the production of other chemicals, and as a refrigerant.
-Trichlorethylene is used in consumer products such as typewriter correction fluids, paint
-Trichlorethylene was used in the past as a general anesthetic.
USAGE AREAS:
-As a cleaning agent, Trichlorethylene shows rapid development in the cleaning of metal parts and electronic components market, used in colored parts, refrigerators, cars, air conditioners, precision machinery and so on.
-Trichlorethylene is still used for the consumption of chemical intermediates.
-Domestic industrialized sub-products of Trichlorethylene, tetrachloroethylene, hexachloroethane, dichloroacetyl chloride, octachlorodipropylether, HFC-134a etc. Includes.
-Trichlorethylene is mainly provided by the production of HFC-134a. Due to the rapid industrialization of domestic production of HFC-134a, the proportion of trichlorethylene in the consumption structure as chemical intermediates has increased significantly.
-As a solvent, weeding agent, Trichlorethylenes consumption is about 15% of the total consumption, mainly used for the production of caprolactam, pesticides and drugs.
-Trichlorethylene pesticides as a solvent include trichlorfon and dimethoate, a popular pesticide in China.
-The application of Trichlorethylene, which is used as an extractant for the purification of pharmaceutical intermediate-methoxy-phthalic acid, has also greatly increased in recent years.
-Trichlorethylene is an effective solvent for various organic substances.
-Other uses in the food industry include decaffeinating coffee and the preparation of flavor extracts from hops and spices. It is also used to allow the final water to dry for the production of 100% ethanol.
-Trichlorethylene has also been used in industrial refrigeration applications as it has high heat transfer properties and low temperature properties.
APPLICATIONS:
-Metal degreasing,
-extraction solvent,
-cleaning kerosene-fueled rocket engines;
-production of refrigerants;
-component of tobacco smoke.
-medicine (inhaled analgesic),
-film cleaning,
-dry-cleaning solvent,
-fumigant.
PROPERTIES:
-Chemical Formula C2HCI3
-Appearance Transparent Liquid
-Purity, 99.7%
-Density (Kg/Liter) 1,465
-Flash Point, °C No
-Boiling Point, °C 87 °C
-Acidic value, 0.001%
-Molecular Weight 131.4
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:
-Trichlorethylene is a nonflammable colorless liquid with a sweet odor similar to ether or chloroform.
-The odor threshold for Trichlorethylene is 28 ppm.
-The chemical formula for Trichlorethylene is C2HCl3, and the molecular weight is 131.40 g/mol.
-The vapor pressure for Trichlorethylene is 74 mm Hg at 25 °C, and it has a log octanol/water partition
-coefficient (log Kow) of 2.42.
-Trichlorethylene is not a persistent chemical in the atmosphere; its half-life in air is about 7 days.
CHEMICAL INSTABILITY:
Despite Trichlorethylenes widespread use as a metal degreaser, Trichlorethylene itself is unstable in the presence of metal over prolonged exposure.
As early as 1961 this phenomenon was recognized by the manufacturing industry, when stabilizing additives were added to the commercial formulation.
Since the reactive instability is accentuated by higher temperatures, the search for stabilizing additives was conducted by heating Trichlorethylene to Trichlorethylenes boiling point in a reflux condenser and observing decomposition.
Definitive documentation of 1,4-dioxane as a stabilizing agent for Trichlorethylene is scant due to the lack of specificity in early patent literature describing TCE formulations.
Other chemical stabilizers include ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:
-Melting / freezing point: -84,8°C
-Boiling point / range: 86,7°C (760 mmHg)
-Relative density: 1,465 g/ml
-Solubility in water: 1,1 g/l
CHARACTERISTICS:
-APPEARANCE: Colorless liquid
-DENSITY: 1.463 g/cm3
-REFRACTIVE INDEX: 1.476
-COLOR: ≤10
-ASSAY: ≥99.5 %
-WATER CONTENT: ≤0.02 %
-BOILING POINT: 86.7 °C
-MELTING POINT: −84.8 °C
-ODOR: chloroform-like odor
SYNONYM:
TCE, acetylene trichloride;
AI3-00052;
Algylen;
Anameth;
Benzinol;
Caswell No. 876;
Cecolene;
Chlorilen;
1-chloro-2,2-dichloroethylene;
Densinfluat;
1,1-dichloro-2chloroethylene;
ethylene trichloride;
fleck-flip; flock flip;
fluate;
germalgene;
lethurin;
narcogen;
narkosoid;
NCI-C04546;
Perm-a-chlor;
petzinol;
philex;
threthylen;
threthylene;
TRI; triasol;
trichloran;
trichlorethylene;
trichloroethene;
1,1,2-Trichlorethylene;
triclene;
trielin;
trilene;
trimar;
tri-plus;
Vestrol;
EPA Pesticide Code: 081202
