Fluorochemicals Business

Methylene Chloride

A clear, colorless, nonflammable, volatile liquid, chlorinated hydrocarbon is used as a solvent in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, as a degreasing agent in electronics manufacturing and as a foam blowing agent for polyurethane foams.

Applications

• Solvent in the Pharmaceutical industry
• Feedstock in the Agrochemical industry
• Dichloromethane is a useful solvent for many chemical processes as it has good volatility and dissolves a wide range of organic compounds
• In the food industry, it has been used to decaffeinate coffee and tea as well as to prepare extracts of hops and other flavourings
• Aerosol spray propellant and blowing agent for polyurethane foams
• In garment industry for removal of the heat-sealed garment
• Used to seal the casing of electric meters
• Used by model building hobbyist for joining plastic components together
• In civil engineering, for testing of bituminous materials as a solvent to separate the binder from the aggregate of asphalt or macadam to allow the testing of the materials

Chloroform

Chloroform is a colorless, volatile, liquid derivative of trichloromethane. The primary use of chloroform today is as a Solvent in the Pharmaceutical industry and as Feedstock in manufacturing of HCFC-22.

Applications

• Solvent in the Pharmaceutical industry
• Feedstock in the manufacture of HCFC-22

Carbon Tetrachloride

Carbon Tetrachloride is a clear, colorless, volatile and very stable chlorinated hydrocarbon. Carbon Tetrachloride is used as a solvent for oils and fats, as a refrigerant and as a dry-cleaning agent.

Applications

• Feedstock in the Agrochemical Industry

Tetrahydrofuran

Tetrahydrofuran is a clear colourless liquid with an ethereal odour. It is less dense than water.

Applications

Reaction Solvent

• Grignard reagents
  
• Alkali metals, alkyl- and aryl alkali metal compounds
• Alkali metal aluminium hydrides and borohydrides
• Steroids and high-molecular-weight organic polymers

Resin Solvent

• Uncured polyurethanes and thermoplastic polyurethanes used in coating (e.g., magnetic tapes and synthetic leather)
• PVC top coating
• PVC reactor cleaning
• Cellophane coating
• Printing inks for plastics
• Chromatographic Solvent
• Gel permeation chromatography

Perchloroethylene

Perchloroethylene (also called Tetrachloroethylene) is a clear colourless, dense liquid with a distinctive, somewhat ether-like odour. It is non-flammable, highly stable, having no measurable flash point or flammable limits in air, belonging to the family of organic halogen compounds.

Applications

• Metal De-greasing
• Dry cleaning
• Feedstock in manufacture of HFC-125
• Feedstock in manufacture of anti-bacterial triclosan
• Paint strippers/ Spot removers
• Feedstock in the manufacture of de-greasing agent- Hexachloroethane

Trichloroethylene

Trichloroethylene is a chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbon compound containing a double bond. It is a dense, non-flammable, volatile, colourless liquid which is only slightly soluble in water but miscible with organic solvents and other halogenated compounds.

Applications

• Metal De-greasing
• Feedstock in the manufacture of HFC-134a

Hydrofluoric acid

Anhydrous Hydrofluoric Acid (AHF), also manufactured by SRF is diluted into a concentration (ranging 20% – 70%) and is used as Dilute hydrofluoric acid (DHF).

Applications

• Etching of stainless-steel coils
• Feedstock for fluoride compounds
• Use as an etchant for etching semiconductors
• Washing of wafers for solar cells
• Dilution with water for a cleaning solution