Polyvinyl chloride, from a combination of just three elements, carbon, hydrogen and chlorine is made by the polymerization of vinyl chloride, an organochloride, which has the formula H2C:CHCl. Under normal conditions, vinyl chloride is a highly inflammable toxic gas. Polymerization takes place in a reactor chamber into which vinyl chloride and water, along with other chemicals to initiate the process have been placed. The PVC powder that results from the reaction undergoes further processing into PVC pellets.
Carbon is the essential constituent of all organic products. It occurs naturally on Earth in three forms, graphite, diamond and amorphous carbon. It is present in all naturally occurring hydrocarbons including coal, crude oil, peat and methane, and in many naturally occurring inorganics such as limestone and carbon dioxide. Carbon is the fourth most profuse element in the Universe by mass, and is the element that is the basis of all known forms of life.
Hydrogen is the lightest of all elements and is the most profuse element in the Universe, making up some 75 percent of its total mass. Hydrogen is present in most organic compounds and all hydrocarbons. Hydrogen is the element from which all other elements originally and ultimately form -- being the initial element in the fusion process at the center of all massive stars. The element is highly flammable in the presence of oxygen, with which it combines to form water, the two being the fuel of most space launches.
Chlorine is an element in the Halogen group of the periodic table, which group includes fluorine, bromine and iodine. Chlorine combines with most other elements to form chlorides. It is a very powerful oxidant and is widely used in the chemical industry. Many chlorine compounds are used as disinfectants and bleaches, and it is commonly used in swimming pools to fight germs and algae. Found in sodium chloride in the Earth's oceans and in underground salt deposits, the Germans used it extensively during the Great War in the trenches as a poison gas.