Application

• Currently, 1,2-dibromoethane is used as a chemical intermediate in synthesis and as a nonflammable solvent for resins, gums, and waxes.

• Carbon tetrachloride has also been used as a general solvent in industrial degreasing operations and as an industrial solvent for cable and semiconductor manufacture.

• Carbon tetrachloride found a variety of other uses in the past in industry, in medicine, and in the home. In the early part of this century, carbon tetrachloride was taken by mouth as a treatment for intestinal worms and it was also used briefly as an anesthetic.

• Ethylene dibromide has been used as a fumigant for stored grain, fruits and vegetables for the treatment of soil against nematodes and for spot treatment in flour mills.

Market

• Carbon tetrachloride is currently manufactured in the United States by Vulcan Materials Company at two plants: Geismar, Louisiana and Wichita, Kansas, with a combined 130 million pound capacity. Current import or export quantities show that recent year, the United States exported 11,880,074 kg (1,880 metric tons), and at present the United States exported 3,714,817 kg (3,715 metric tons).
• India's agricultural chemicals market is estimated at USD 650 million and is expected to grow 10 to 12 percent per year. The agricultural chemicals industry is dominated by insecticides, which accounts for 73 percent of the market, herbicides constitute approximately 13 percent of the market, and fungicides 11 percent.

• Imports of ethylene dibromide and fluorinated, brominated, or iodinated derivatives of acyclic hydrocarbons were approximately 4.5 million lb in recently. Twenty-six current U.S. suppliers were listed for 1,2-dibromoethane.