Dichloroethane - what is this substance? This substance is a chemical chlorine-containing compound. We can say that all reagents can be divided into narrowly targeted and those that are widely used. Dichloroethane belongs to the second category. Also, this substance is also called DCE, ethylene chloride, ethylene dichloride.
Dichloroethane, what is it?
This substance can be characterized as liquid, colorless and transparent. It also has a rather strong and specific smell, which seems a bit sweet and resembles chloroform. The solubility of this chemical composition in water is rather weak, but instead it creates an azeotropic mixture with water, in which the content of DCE reaches 82.9%. Well, this substance will dissolve in organic liquids. Dichloroethane - what is it in terms of its use? This chemical composition itself can be a good solvent for a variety of fats or oils. It is also worth noting that the composition is quite aggressive in relation to materials such as plastic and rubber.
General properties of ethylene chloride
Dichloroethane - what is it, in terms of properties? This is a reagent that is toxic, flammable and explosive, and it also evaporates quite quickly and easily. If you inhale this substance, it will cause a state of drug intoxication, as well as poisoning. In addition, the composition is considered a carcinogen and a mutagen. For humans, the lethal dose of this substance is 20 ml if it enters through the mouth, skin or air. The chemical reagent is dangerous for the environment, and its half-life is 50 years. Due to its high toxicity, the use of dichloroethane is quite limited. It is popular only in the chemical industry. Here it is used in many areas, since in addition to its toxicity, it also has a number of positive qualities. To obtain DCE resort to the operation of chlorination of ethylene. The production of this substance is carried out by tens of millions of tons around the world.
Fields of application
This substance has found its application in areas such as chemical production, agriculture, household chemicals, military and construction industries, paint and varnish industry. And this is not a complete list of those areas of human activity in which this chemical reagent is quite widespread and actively used.
It is worth noting that most of the total indicator of dichloroethane produced goes to the creation of vinyl chloride. It is often used as the basis for the manufacture of various kinds of polymeric materials. The primary substance that is known around the world and is produced using DCE is polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC. From this material, people learned how to create plastic windows, stretch ceilings, electrical insulation materials, leatherette, etc.
Other uses of ethylene dichloride
Ethylene dichloroethane is used to produce substances such as ethylene glycol, ethylene diamine, polysulfide rubbers. If we talk about such an industry as paint and varnish, then here it is widely used as the main reagent for the manufacture of paint solvents. Agriculture also actively uses this compound as an insecticide for the processing of crops, vineyards, soil, grain storage. It is also actively used to control pests such as the Colorado potato beetle and several other types of insects.
If we talk about the construction industry, here it is used as a solvent for plastic, rubber, rubber, fats, oils, waxes, etc. Due to its qualities, the substance is able not only to dissolve, but also to glue plastic. Dichloroethane is used when working with the facing material used for building structures. Here it is worth introducing a certain clarity. It is strictly forbidden to glue any items related to kitchen utensils. You can use the reagent and paired with an element such as plexiglass. Dichloroethane is used to repair parts from this composition. It is able to remove cracks and chips from the surface of these elements.
Bonding with dichloroethane
It is important to understand that there are currently a wide variety of adhesives. The reason for this was that the same composition cannot effectively glue, for example, wood and plastic. The adhesive base must somehow compensate for the difference between the two elements of different composition. For plastic and other polymeric products, this basis is DCE.
The reason for the demand for this composition was that plastic itself , plastic , etc., are rather fragile substances, and therefore glue is almost always used to repair them at home. But there are many nuances that must be taken into account.
Features of work
It’s worth saying right away that gluing plastic is very difficult. Materials such as ceramics, metal, or even glass can be combined with an adhesive mixture much easier. The whole problem of polymeric substances when gluing them is that they have a fairly high chemical inertness. In other words, such materials simply do not form bonds. Because of this, for bonding polymers you need to have a special composition. In addition, for each group of such substances it is necessary to apply a different composition of glue. For example, gluing dichloroethane to polyethylene does not work.
In general, all adhesives are divided into two groups: liquid with a base of water and liquid with a base of solvent. The principle of operation of the adhesive on the solvent is that after its application, the solvent base completely evaporates, and the remaining elements harden by connecting the material. However, only porous raw materials can be glued in this way; it is completely useless to use it for a sealed base.
DHE for plastic
By itself, this chemical reagent is very weakly like an adhesive. It has a pungent odor, it is volatile, and it also readily dissolves in alcohol or fats. Small containers containing DCE are on sale. 30 ml each. Since the composition itself is aggressive and dissolves the plastic, it is necessary to properly prepare the adhesive composition.
To prepare the glue, a certain amount of a polymeric substance must be dissolved in a liquid. Most often it is about 2% Plexiglas or 20% polystyrene. In order to further reduce the aggressiveness of the composition with a dichloroethane base, it is necessary to dissolve a little of the material that is planned to be glued in it.
Bonding Instructions
In principle, the use of this composition for bonding is quite simple:
- First you need to dissolve a small fraction of the plastic in the amount of glue that you plan to use.
- The surface to be glued must be degreased with acetone.
- Apply the composition directly to the seam. It is impossible to allow material to hit a normal surface, otherwise it will corrode it.
- After the glue gets into the seam, the edges are pulled together and held in this position for 1 to 6 hours.
Since this composition evaporates too quickly and is toxic, it can only be used in a room that has good ventilation. Also, the room should not have any sources of fire or heat to avoid a fire.