SORAN UNIVERSTY

FACULTY OF ENGINNRING
CHIMECAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
THIRD STAGE
SECOND SEMESTER
11/5/2022

Polyvinyl chloride

Prepared by: Supervisor by:

Dilgash Bahri
Mr. Hamid Kazemi Hakki
Ali Jamal

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Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Basic Forms of PVC

• PVC Manufactured

• Additives

• Applications

• Properties of PVC

• Recyclability and Toxicity of PVC

• Reference
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 Introduction

• PVC is a flexible or rigid material that is chemically

nonreactive. Rigid PVC is easily machined, heat formed,
welded, and even solvent cemented.

• PVC was first made 'unintentionally' in 1872 by German

chemist Eugen Baumann. He exposed vinyl chloride gas
sealed in a tube to sunlight and produced a white solid called
PVC.
Figure 1: Polyvinyl chloride.

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• Chemical Formula: (C2H3Cl)n. Poly vinyl chloride is
also known as poly vinyl or Vinyl, As abbreviated
known as PVC. PVC is the widely third most, large
using synthetic polymer in world followed by
Polyethylene & Polypropene. Polyvinyl chloride is a
white, brittle solid. It is insoluble in alcohol and
slightly soluble in tetrehydrofuran.

Figure 2 : PVC Chemical Structure

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 Basic Forms of PVC

• Polyvinyl Chloride is widely available in two broad categories: Flexible and Rigid. But there are
more types like CPVC, PVC-O and PVC-M.

• Flexible PVC : Flexible PVC is formed by the addition of compatible plasticizers to PVC which
lower the crystallinity. These plasticizers act like lubricants resulting in a much clearer and
flexible plastic. This type of PVC is sometimes called as PVC-P.

• Rigid PVC : Rigid PVC is a stiff and cost-effective plastic with high resistance to impact, water,
weather, chemicals and corrosive environments. This type of PVC is also known as UPVC, PVC-
U.

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• Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride : It is prepared by chlorination of PVC resin. High chlorine
content imparts high durability, chemical stability and flame retardancy. CPVC can withstand a
wider range of temperatures.

• Molecular Oriented PVC or PVC-O: It is formed by reorganizing the amorphous structure of

PVC-U into a layered structured. Bi-axially oriented PVC has enhanced physical characteristics
(stiffness, fatigue resistance, lightweight, etc.).

• Modified PVC or PVC-M: It is an alloy of PVC formed by addition of modifying agents,

resulting in enhanced toughness and impact properties.

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 PVC Manufactured

• Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is produced from the chlorination of ethylene and pyrolysis
of the resulting ethylene dichloride (EDC) in a cracking unit. PVC (glass transition
temperature: 70-80°C) is produced by polymerization of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).

Figure 3 :PVC Manufactured

• The popular methods used to manufacture PVC commercially are:

1-Suspension PVC (S-PVC)
2-Bulk or Emulsion (E-PVC) 7
 Suspension PVC (S-PVC) Process

• In pressure-tight reactor, the monomer is introduced with polymerization initiator and other
additives. The content of the reaction vessel is mixed continuously to maintain suspension and
ensure uniform particle size of PVC resin.

• Typical suspension polymerized PVC has a mean particle size of 100-150 µm with a range of 50-
250 µm.

• S-PVC grades are formulated to meet an extensive range of requirements such as, high
plasticizer absorption for flexible products, or high bulk density and good powder flow required
for rigid extrusion.

• Suspension Polymerization accounts for 80% of PVC production worldwide

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 Bulk or Emulsion (E-PVC) Process

• In this process, surfactants (soaps) are used to disperse the vinyl chloride monomer in water. The
monomer is trapped inside soap micelles are protected by the soap and polymerization takes place
using water soluble initiators.

• The primary particles are solid, smooth surfaced spheres which are clustered into irregular shaped
aggregates with a typical mean particle size of 40-50 µm with a range of 0.1-100 µm.

• E-PVC resins are used in a wide range of specialty applications such as coating, dipping or
spreading.

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 Additives

The product of the polymerization process is unmodified PVC. Before PVC can be made into
finished products, it always requires conversion into a compound by the incorporation of additives
(but not necessarily all of the following) such as heat stabilizers, UV stabilizers, plasticizers,
processing aids, impact modifiers, thermal modifiers, fillers, flame retardants, biocides, blowing
agents and smoke suppressors, and, optionally, pigments.

• Plasticizers : Most flexible vinyl products contain plasticizers which are used to make the
material softer and more flexible, and lower the glass transition temperature. Plasticizers work
by increasing the space and act as a lubricant between the PVC polymer chains.

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• Phthalate plasticizers : The most common class of plasticizers used in PVC is phthalates, which are
diesters of phthalic acid. Phthalates can be categorized as high and low, depending on their molecular
weight. Low phthalates such as DEHP and DBP have increased health risks and are generally being
phased out. High-molecular-weight phthalates such as DINP, DIDP are generally considered safer

• Heat stabilizers : One of the most crucial additives are heat stabilizers. These agents minimize loss
of HCl, a degradation process that starts above 70 °C (158 °F). Once dehydrochlorination starts, it is
autocatalytic. Many diverse agents have been used including, traditionally, derivatives of heavy
metals (lead, cadmium). Metallic soaps (metal "salts" of fatty acids) are common in flexible PVC
applications, species such as calcium stearate.

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 Applications

• Pipes : Roughly half of the world's PVC resin

manufactured annually is used for producing
pipes for municipal and industrial applications.

Figure 4 : Pipes by pvc.

• Electric cables : PVC is commonly used as the

insulation on electrical cables such as teck; PVC
used for this purpose needs to be plasticized.
Flexible PVC coated wire and cable for electrical
use has traditionally been stabilised with lead, but
these are being replaced with calcium-zinc based
systems.
Figure 5 : Electric Cables by pvc.
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• Construction : PVC is a common, strong but lightweight plastic used in construction. It is made
softer and more flexible by the addition of plasticizers. If no plasticizers are added, it is known as
uPVC (unplasticized polyvinyl chloride) or rigid PVC.

• Clothing : PVC fabric is water-resistant, used for its weather-resistant qualities in coats, skiing
equipment, shoes, jackets, aprons, patches and sports bags.

• Healthcare : The two main application areas for single-use medically approved PVC compounds
are flexible containers and tubing: containers used for blood and blood components, for urine
collection or for ostomy products and tubing used for blood taking and blood giving sets,
catheters, heart-lung bypass sets, hemodialysis sets etc.

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Figure 6 : Examples of PVC Use.

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 Properties of PVC

• Electrical Properties: PVC is a good insulation material, thanks to its good dielectric strength.

• Durability: PVC is resistant to weathering, chemical rotting, corrosion, shock and abrasion. It
is therefore the preferred choice for many long-life and outdoor products.

• Cost/Performance Ratio: PVC has good physical as well as mechanical properties and
provides excellent cost-performance advantages. It has long life span and need low
maintenance.
• Mechanical Properties: PVC is abrasion-resistant, lightweight and tough.

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 Recyclability and Toxicity of PVC

Products made from PVC are 100% recyclable and can be identified as recycling code #3

PVC can be recycled multiple times and each year 730,000 tonnes of PVC are recycled.
Adopting an appropriate recycling pathway for PVC is of both an economic value and an
environmental benefit. Key methods for PVC recycling include:

• Mechanical Recycling – Mechanical recycling refers to recycling processes where

PVC waste is treated through shredding, sieving and grinding. Depending on the
composition, the quality of the recyclates can vary a lot.
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• Chemical Recycling : Chemical recycling processes break up polymer into monomers (used to
produce new polymers) or other substances (used as starting materials in processes of the basic
chemical industry). The Chlorine is set free in the form of HCl that can be re-used or neutralized to
form various products. Stabilizers containing heavy metals mostly end up in solid residues that will
most probably have to be landfilled.

• Feedstock Recycling – It involves (usually) thermal treatment of the PVC waste stream with
recovery of hydrogen chloride that can then be returned to the PVC production process or used in
other processes.

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 Reference

• http://pvcconstruct.org/en/p/material

• https://en.wikipedia.org/

• https://omnexus.specialchem.com/

• https://www.knowswhy.com/

• https://chemceed.com/

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