They include everything from lifesaving medical devices such as medical tubing and blood bags, to footwear, electrical cables, packaging, stationery, and toys. Many of the PVC products we use everyday but tend to take for granted contain phthalate plasticisers. Speciality plasticisers, such as adipates, citrates, benzoates and trimeliltates are used where special physical properties are required such as the ability to withstand very low temperatures or where increased flexibility is important. HMW phthalates are safely used in many everyday including cables and flooring. These include: DINP, DIDP, DPHP, DIUP and DTDP. High Phthalates: High molecular weight (HMW) phthalates are those with 7 - 13 carbon atoms in their chemical backbone. The use of these phthalates in Europe is limited to certain specialised applications. Low Phthalates: Low molecular weight (LMW) phthalates contain eight or less carbon atoms in their chemical backbone. The most commonly used plasticisers are phthalates which can be divided into two distinct groups with very different applications and classifications For more information on plasticisers, please see The selection of plasticisers depends on the final properties required by the final product, and indeed whether the product is for a flooring application or a medical application. There are more than 300 different types of plasticisers of which about 50-100 are in commercial use. Early examples of plasticisers include water to soften clay and oils to plasticise pitch for waterproofing ancient boats. Rigid PVC, also known as PVC-U (The U stands for "unplasticised") is used extensively in building applications such as window frames.Ī plasticiser is a substance which when added to a material, usually a plastic, makes it flexible, resilient and easier to handle. PVC can be plasticised to make it flexible for use in flooring and medical products. PVC's compatibility with many different kinds of additives is one of the materials many strengths and is what makes it such a highly versatile polymer. These additives can influence or determine a number of the products properties, namely its mechanical properties, weather fastness, its colour and clarity and indeed whether it is to be used in a flexible application. Caustic Soda too has many key, everyday applications, including the following applications: pulp and paper manufacture, soap and surfactant manufacture, detergents and cleaners, aluminia extraction, textiles and in the food industryīefore PVC can be made into products, it has to be combined with a range of special additives.
Chlorine is used in the manufacture of life-saving medication, indeed 85% of all pharmaceuticals. Products and bi-products of PVC manufacture include Chlorine and Caustic Soda, two of perhaps the most important manufacturing "ingredients" not only for PVC manufacture, but many other applications. Įthylene from oil equates to 0.3% of annual oil usage, but increasingly etheylene from sugar crops is also being used for PVC production Molecules of VCM are polymerised to form PVC resin, to which appropriate additives are incorporated to make a customised PVC compound. The electrolysis of salt water produces chlorine, which is combined with ethylene (obtained from oil) to form vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).
The essential raw materials for PVC are derived from salt and oil. The material now accounts for about 20% of all plastic manufactured world-wide, second only to polyethlene.Ħ.23 Examples of Some Current Recycling Schemes for PVCĦ.5 Voluntary Committment to Sustainable Development (VinylPlus)Ĩ Find a Supplier of PVC or Plastic Material The first patent for a polymerisation process to manufacture PVC was granted to German inventor Friedrich Klatte in 1913 and PVC has been in commercial production since 1933. PVC is a very durable and long lasting material which can be used in a variety of applications, either rigid or flexible, white or black and a wide range of colours in between. Due to its versatile nature, PVC is used extensively across a broad range of industrial, technical and everyday applications including widespread use in building, transport, packaging, electrical/electronic and healthcare applications.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is one of the most widely used polymers in the world.