Additives plasticiser

In summary, then, design with polymers requires special attention to time-dependent effects, large elastic deformation and the effects of temperature, even close to room temperature. Room temperature data for the generic polymers are presented in Table 21.5. As emphasised already, they are approximate, suitable only for the first step of the design project. For the next step you should consult books (see Further reading), and when the choice has narrowed to one or a few candidates, data for them should be sought from manufacturers data sheets, or from your own tests. Many polymers contain additives - plasticisers, fillers, colourants - which change the mechanical properties. Manufacturers will identify the polymers they sell, but will rarely disclose their... 

It is found that the viscosity of a paste made from a fixed polymer/plasticiser ratio depends to a great extent on the particle size and size distribution. In essence, in order to obtain a low-viscosity paste, the less the amount of plasticiser required to fill the voids between particles the better. Any additional plasticiser present is then available to act as a lubricant for the particles, facilitating their general mobility in suspension. Thus in general a paste polymer in which the pastes have a wide particle size distribution (but within the limit set by problems of plasticiser absorption and settling out, so that particles pack efficiently, will... 

This report sets out the future objectives of the Vinyl 2010 - Voluntary Commitment of the PVC Industry. Principles and actions covering the period 2000-2010 apply to the following PVC manufacture, Additives-plasticisers and stabilisers waste management social progress and dialogue management, monitoring and financial scheme. 

AA, MAA and ITA also act as plasticisers and ideally, it should not be necessary to add any additional plasticiser comonomer such as MA but, for textile tow precursor, it is probably necessary to increase the acid comonomer content, or add an additional plasticiser comonomer to facilitate the introduction of crimp, which aids in the packaging of the large textile tow. Freedom from adventitious impurities in the dope by careful selection of raw materials, efficient dope filtration (e.g., the use of membrane filters) and clean room conditions will yield a PAN precursor that will have less faults and hence, produce a carbon fiber with better mechanical properties. 

Wall-coverings (or wallpapers) are one of the flexible PVC applications in residential and commercial interiors. PVC wall-coverings contain a number of additives (plasticisers, stabilisers and other additives, such as pigments, mildewicides, fungicides, flame retardants (or smoke suppressors), as well as low levels of biocides) in addition to PVC. They are used both as decorative as well as for protective purposes, they are fairly impermeable... 

The widespread use of these compounds in commerce as insecticides, oil additives, plasticisers, etc., coupled with the possibilities of studying phosphate metabolism in nucleic acids, lecithins and similar products, has stimulated a good deal of work in this field, and a number of correlations are now available. These have been summarised in correlation charts for (a) inorganic phosphorus links [22], and (b) organo phosphorus compounds [23] by Corbridge, and by Thomas and Chittenden [36]. Useful reviews of P=0 frequencies have been given by Hudson [37], and by Thomas [59]. 

Thermal methods of analysis are widely used to investigate the process of additive loss from polymers. According to several authors [223-225] the volatility of low-MW additives (plasticisers, antioxidants, light stabilisers, accelerators, etc.) proceeds according to first-order kinetics. Various interferences have been noticed in these analyses [226]. 

Some more specific polymer chemistry applications for TG-FTIR are solvent and water retention, curing and vulcanisation reactions, isothermal ageing, product stability, identification of base polymer type and additives (plasticisers, mould lubricants, blowing agents, antioxidants, flame retardants, processing aids, etc.) and safety concerns (processing, product safety, product liability, fire hazards) [357]. A wide variety of polymers and elastomers has been studied by TG-FTIR [353,358,359]. The potential applications of an integrated TG-FTIR system were discussed by various authors [346,357]. 

Swelling the thermoplastic starch and aliphatic polyester with additional plasticiser and water in the first stage of an extruder. 

C. D. Craver, Infra Red Spectra of Plasticisers and Other Additives, 2nd ed.. The Coblent2 Society, Kirkwood, Mo., 1980. 

PVC. Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), a very versatile polymer, is manufactured by the polymerisation of vinyl chloride monomer, a gaseous substance obtained from the reaction of ethylene with oxygen and hydrochloric acid. In its most basic form, the resin is a relatively hard material that requites the addition of other compounds, commonly plasticisers and stabilisers as well as certain other ingredients, to produce the desired physical properties for roofing use. The membranes come in both reinforced and nonreinforced constmctions, but since the 1980s the direction has been toward offering only reinforced membranes. The membrane thickness typically mns from 0.8—1.5 mm and widths typically in the range of 1.5—4.6 m. 

The majority (92% in 1988) of the butyraldehyde produced in the United States is converted into 1-butanol and 2-ethyIhexanol (2-EH). 2-EH is most widely used as the di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate [117-81-7] ester for the plasticisation of flexible PVC. Other uses for 2-EH include production of intermediates for acryflc surface coatings, diesel fuel, and lube oil additives (24). 

Before providing such an explanation it should first be noted that progressive addition of a plasticiser causes a reduction in the glass transition temperature of the polymer-plasticiser blend which eventually will be rubbery at room temperature. This suggests that plasticiser molecules insert themselves between polymer molecules, reducing but not eliminating polymer-polymer contacts and generating additional free volume. With traditional hydrocarbon softeners as used in diene rubbers this is probably almost all that happens. However, in the... 

Particulate fillers are divided into two types, inert fillers and reinforcing fillers. The term inert filler is something of a misnomer as many properties may be affected by incorporation of such a filler. For example, in a plasticised PVC compound the addition of an inert filler will reduce die swell on extrusion, increase modulus and hardness, may provide a white base for colouring, improve electrical insulation properties and reduce tackiness. Inert fillers will also usually substantially reduce the cost of the compound. Amongst the fillers used are calcium carbonates, china clay, talc, and barium sulphate. For normal uses such fillers should be quite insoluble in any liquids with which the polymer compound is liable to come into contact. 

It has been common practice to blend plasticisers with certain polymers since the early days of the plastics industry when Alexander Parkes introduced Parkesine. When they were first used their function was primarily to act as spacers between the polymer molecules. Less energy was therefore required for molecular bond rotation and polymers became capable of flow at temperatures below their decomposition temperature. It was subsequently found that plasticisers could serve two additional purposes, to lower the melt viscosity and to change physical properties of the product such as to increase softness and flexibility and decrease the cold flex temperature (a measure of the temperature below which the polymer compound loses its flexibility). 

In the early days of the commercial development of PVC, emulsion polymers were preferred for general purpose applications. This was because these materials exist in the form of the fine primary particles of diameter of the order of 0.1-1.0 p,m, which in the case of some commercial grades aggregate into hollow secondary particles or cenospheres with diameters of 30-100 p,m. These emulsion polymer particles have a high surface/volume ratio and fluxing and gelation with plasticisers is rapid. The use of such polymers was, however, restricted because of the presence of large quantities of soaps and other additives necessary to emulsion polymerisation which adversely affect clarity and electrical insulation properties. 

Until comparatively recently the bulk of general purpose phthaiate plasticisers have been based on the branched alcohols because of low cost of such raw material. Suitable linear alcohols at comparative prices have become available from petroleum refineries and good all-round plasticisers are produced with the additional advantage of conferring good low-temperature flexibility and high room temperature resistance to plasticised PVC compounds. A typical material (Pliabrac 810) is prepared from a blend of straight chain octyl and decyl alcohols. 

Developments in the USA have led to the availability of terephthalate plasticisers, for example dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP). Whilst these materials are very similar to the corresponding o-phthalate esters they are generally less volatile and are best compared with d-phthalates with one or more carbon atom in the alkyl chain. As with the linear dialkyl phthalates the terephthalates show good fogging resistance. This is a phenomenon in which new cars on storage fields awaiting delivery develop misting on the windows due, apparently, to the volatility of additives in PVC compounds used with the car. 

Additives used include plasticisers such as diphenyl diethyl ether, ultraviolet light absorbers such as 5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzophenone (1-2% on the polymer) and stabilisers such as phenoxy propylene oxide. 

In order to obtain the desired photoconductive characteristics, toughness and adherence to the substrate it is usual to incorporate additives such as electron acceptors, plasticisers and primers. A typical electron acceptor is 2,4,7-trinitro-fluoronone, plasticisers include benzyltetraline and phenanthrene whilst as primers styrene-butadiene block copolymers (30-35% styrene) and styrene-maleic anhydride copolymers (5-30% maleic anhydride) are of use. 

In addition to its water solubility poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) is soluble in a very wide range of materials, including aliphatic halogenated hydrocarbons (methylene dichloride, chloroform), many monohydric and polyhdric alcohols (methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol), some ketones (acetyl acetone) and lactones (a-butyrolactone), lower aliphatic acids (glacial acetic acid) and the nitro-paraffins. The polymer is also compatible with a wide range of other synthetic polymers, with gums and with plasticisers. 

In the late 1970s several developments occurred causing renewed interest in poly(ethylene terephthalate) as a plastics material. These included the development of a new mouldable grade by ICI (Melinar) and the development of a blow moulding technique to produce biaxially oriented PET bottles. In addition there appeared a glass-fibre filled, ionomer nucleated, dibenzoate plasticised material by Du Pont (Rynite) (see Chapter 26). 

Nitration of cellulose followed by plasticisation of the product with camphor has the effect of reducing the orderly close packing of the cellulose molecules. Hence whereas cellulose is insoluble in solvents, except in certain cases where there is chemical reaction, celluloid is soluble in solvents such as acetone and amyl acetate. In addition the camphor present may be dissolved out by chloroform and similar solvents which do not dissolve the cellulose nitrate. 

Although the prime function of plasticisers in cellulose acetate is to bring the processing temperature of the compound below the polymer decomposition temperature, it has additional values. An increase in the plasticiser content will reduce the melt viscosity at a given temperature and simplify processing. The physical properties of the finished product will be modified, increasing toughness... 

As a result of development work between the Battelle Institute in Frankfurt and a German candle-making company, Aetema, biodegradable cellulose acetate compounds have been available since 1991 from the Rhone-Poulenc subsidiary Tubize Plastics. They are marketed under the trade names Bioceta and Biocellat. The system is centred round the use of an additive which acts both as a plasticiser and a biodegrading agent, causing the cellulose ester to decompose within 6-24 months. 

The resins act as a plasticiser during processing but they cross-link while the rubber is vulcanising to give a harder product with improved oxidation resistance, oil resistance and tensile strength. The addition of sufficient resin will lead to an ebonite-like product. 

---