Properties of irradiated PVC plasticized with non-endocrine disruptor

Polyvinylchloride (PVC) is under heavy attack from environmentalist groups due to the use of plasticizers and its recycling difficulties. Chloro-organics and phtalates are considered now as ubiquitous global contaminants due to their potential as weak endocrine disruptor and huge consumption. In order to make PVC acceptable for the irradiation processing industry in the long term, non-toxic plasticizers should be used. PVC was added with dioctyl phtalate (DOP) and epoxy soybean oil (ESO) and irradiated up to 50 kGy. Mechanical properties, optical properties and viscosity were measured and compared. The elongation and mechanical strength were under the usual range and they didn’t show any significant change in the studied range of irradiation dose. All the samples showed a weak yellowing effect after irradiation and the molecular weight measured by viscosimetry showed only negligible changes. In conclusion, DOP and ESO were shown to be effective in stabilizing the radiolytic abstraction of HCl from PVC. Both plasticizers imparted good color stability and overall properties to the products.