Tetrachloroethylene

Uncommon card · No. 181116

Tetrachloroethylene, also known as perchloroethylene or under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, and abbreviations such as perc, and PCE, is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl2C=CCl2. It is a volatile, non-flammable, stable, colorless and dense liquid widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics and as a metal degreasing solvent, formerly as an oral anthelmintic. It has a mild, sweet, sharp odor, detectable by most people at a concentration of 50 ppm. Tetrachloroethylene is produced industrially by the chlorination or oxychlorination of hydrocarbons. Approximately a million tons of tetrachloroethylene are produced every year and the production amount is increasing every year, especially to be used in the production of HCFC and HFC refrigerants. It was first obtained from the thermal decomposition of hexachloroethane in 1820 by the English chemist-physicist Michael Faraday. Tetrachloroethylene is more stable compared to other chlorinated solvents and similar compounds as it does not react...

Read on Wikipedia · Image LesChloroformistes, CC BY-SA 4.0