Polyvinyl chloride development

A development of interest to the chemical industiy is the tubular precipitator of reinforced-plastic construction (Wanner, Gas Cleaning Plant after T1O2 Rotary Kilns, technical bulletin, Lurgi Corp., Frankfurt, Germany, 1971). Tubes made of polyvinyl chloride plastic are reinforced on the outside with polyester-fiber glass. The use of modern economical materials of construction to replace high-maintenance materials such as lead has been long awaited for corrosive applications. 

The development of electrical power made possible the electrochemical industry. Electrolysis of sodium chloride produces chlorine and either sodium hydroxide (from NaCl in solution) or metallic sodium (from NaCl fused). Sodium hydroxide has applications similar to sodium carbonate. The ad vantage of the electrolytic process is the production of chlorine which has many uses such as production of polyvinyl chloride. PVC, for plumbing, is produced in the largest quantity of any plastic. 

Vinyl chloride (1835) formed by reacting acetylene with hydrochloric acid, was polymerized a.v polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in 1912, The theory of polymerization by Staudinger in the 1920s- led to the advances that followed. The acrylate were polymerized as polymethylmethacrylate to come into production in 1927. Polystyrene was developed. similarly and concurrently. Polyethylene came into production in 1939 for use in radar and now is ubiquitous. 

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is produced by a batch process. Since it is usually cheaper to produce chemicals if a flow process is used, the development department proposes a new process and has a process engineer assigned to design it and estimate its cost. If it is only slightly less expensive than the batch process, the new method will be dropped. If it appears that substantial savings can be realized by using the continuous process, further research and pilot-plant studies will be. insfituted to make certain it will work before the board of directors is asked to authorize the construction of the plant. 

Polyvinyl chloride resin, because of its inherent thermal instability and wide range of applications, requires us to develop additive recipes based on specific application and processing requirements. Typical additive packages include stabilizers, plasticizers, waxes, processing aids, pigments, and mineral additives. 

Dianor [Diamond Alkali, Oronozio de Nora] A process for cracking naphtha to ethylene, adapted for small-scale operation so that polyvinyl chloride could be made by developing nations. Developed in the 1970s by Chem Systems and the two named companies, but not commercialized. 

MSP3 [Micro-Suspension Process] A process for making polyvinyl chloride in suspension. Developed by Atochem, which has granted four licenses since 1977. 

Polyvinyl chloride was first produced by Ostromislensky in 1912. However its commercial development occurred only when dibutylphthalate was used as plasticiser by Semor in early 1930s. 

Before World War II, German developed a synthetic fibre from polyvinyl chloride. In America, a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate was marketed as Vinyon . Dow chemical marketed as Saran a copolymer from vinylidene chloride and vinyl chloride. Saran fibre is characterised by its remarkable resistance of most of chemical reagents and fire. 

Before the mechanism of vinyl polymerization was understood, the question of the structure of vinyl polymers was of considerable interest. Staudinger had written these polymers as having a head-to-tail arrangement of recurring units, but he had not really furnished evidence of the structure. As Carothers once said, Staudinger had assigned the structure by pronouncement. He was as usual correct, and chemical evidence was developed to establish such structures. For example, when monovinyl methyl ketone polymerized, it could produce by head-to-head, tail-to-tail reaction a 1,4-diketone. By head-to-tail polymerization it would give a 1,5-diketone. These two types have different reactions. The study of the polymer proper showed that the polymer was a 1,5-diketone. In the case of polyvinyl chloride, a head-to-head, tail-to-tail polymerization would lead to a 1,2-dihalide compound, and a head-to-tail polymerization would lead to a 1,3-dihalide. 

Widespread chlorine-containing polymers would include, 1) stable molding material for practical use such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride and poly(epichlorohydrin)(PECH) and, 2) reactive polymers capable to introduce additional functional groups via their active chlorines such as chloromethyl polystyrene, poly (3-chloroethyl vinyl-ether) and poly (vinyl chloroacetate). While the latter, especially the chloromethyl polystyrene, has been widely used recently for the synthesis of variety of functional polymers, we should like to talk in this article about the chemical modification of the former, mainly of PVC and PECH, which was developed in our laboratory. 

An important advance in ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) and related systems was based on the concept of polymeric liquid membranes developed by Eisenman [122]. The principle of this approach was to incorporate an organic compound as the ionophore into a polyvinyl chloride membrane... 

Antimony has few other uses except as an alloy to harden other materials. One recent development was to add antimony oxide to polyvinyl chloride (PVC pipe) to act as a flame retardant. 

Polyvinyl chloride can be shaped into clear, soft flexible tubing and sheets with the aid of using plasticizers such as diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Polyvinyl chloride resins are used for children s toys, automobile seat covers, and for catheters used for intravenous transfusion of blood and nutrients in hospitals and homes. When DEHP was suspected of leaching out of the products, and of being a carcinogen, substitutions were developed with polyvinylacetate and polyethylene. However, these substitutes are not yet totally satisfactory, as they cannot be steam sterilized, and they are not as clear and flexible as PVC. 

Selective ion electrodes (SIE). Selective ion electrodes are essentially variants of the well-known pH meter. They are membrane indicator types of electrodes in which a potential is developed across a membrane in the presence of the ion the size of the potential is related to the concentration and hence can be used to quantitatively detect and measure the species. However, instead of a glass membrane, as in the pH meter, the membranes consist of organics that are immersible in water. For example, anion-sensitive electrodes use a solution of an anion exchange resin in an organic solvent the liquid can be held in the form of a gel, for example, in polyvinyl chloride. The ion reacts with the organic membrane, setting up an equilibrium between the free ion in solution and the ion bound to the membrane, generating a potential difference, which is measured. 

There is every indication that the next several years will witness a continued rapid increase in the use of petroleum raw materials in the production of elastomers and plastics, and that the petroleum companies will become increasingly active, not only in providing the starting materials, but also in operating the chemical processes of converting them to the required monomers and polymers. The current increase in production of thermoplastic resins such as polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and acrylonitrile polymers is based on the development of widespread new applications at the consumer level, and the outlet for plastic materials in many of these uses is presently limited by the capacity to produce and process the resins rather than by consumer demand. 

Arcites are rocket propellants developed recently in the US by Atlantic Research Corp, Alexandria, Virginia. They usually contain oxidizers(sueh as AN or NH4C104), binders (such as polyvinyl chlorides) and plastici-zers(such as dibutyl sebacate)... 

Highlighting some of these post-phenolic developments, we saw polyvinyl chloride introduced in 1927, acrylics in 1936, nylon in 1938, and fluorocarbon in 1943. ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) was introduced in 1948, acetal in 1956, polycarbonate in 1957, polyphenylene oxide in 1964, and polysulfone in 1965. 

Polyvinyl Halides. Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride It was produced in Germany up to three decades ago, but this was primarily a 1,1-disubstituted product of increased solubility for dry-spinning of fibers. Goodrich has developed a light-activated suspension chlorination process which produces 1,2-dichlorinated structures of increased hot strength, thermal stability, and flame resistance. 

A manufacturing precast for producing ortho-phthalate otters derived from alkyl acid ortho-phthalatos and olefins has boon developed and demonstrated on the pilot plant scale. Process variables Include choice of reactants, stoichiometry, reaction kinetics, recycle of recovered materials and the fate of the perchloric add catalyst. Seme physical properties of the ortho-phthalate esters have been determined and severed of the esters have been evaluated as plasticizers for polyvinyl chloride. The composite data show that the acid-olefin esterification process provides commercially acceptable plasticizers for polyvinyl chloride. 

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