Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products are present everywhere around us.
PVC is a thermoplastic resin (a resin having a property of softening by applying heat). It is the most versatile polymer in the Polyolefin family, thanks to additives such as plasticizer and coloring agent, many products can be manufactured through a wide range of processes, like extrusion, calendering, injection molding, blow molding etc. End products can be either soft or in rigid form, transparent or colored.
Table 1. Examples of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products | |
Soft product | Electric wire coating, artificial leather, flooring, wallpaper, table cloth, desk mat, wrapping film, waterproof sheet, curing sheet, agricultural films, tents, automotive dashboards, seats coverings,
medical containers (blood bags, medicine pouches), boots, sandals … |
Hard product | Water and sewage pipe, industrial pipe, rain gutter, plate for building materials, resin sash, furniture veneer, outdoor building material, resin siding, deck material, duct cover, water bottles, record board … |
When processing PVC products, they deteriorate due to heat, light, oxygen, etc. When PVC deteriorates, phenomena such as discoloration and deterioration of physical property (product becoming fragile) occur.
In order to suppress such phenomena, it is indispensable to add a stabilizer to all PVC products.
Table 2 lists the classification of stabilizers used in major PVC products.
Table 2. Examples of stabilizers commonly used for PVC products | |
PVC products | The stabilizer used |
Leather for miscellaneous goods, sheets for building materials, wallpaper, flooring materials, … | Barium / zinc complex |
Wire covering material, wrap film, water pipe pipe … | Calcium / zinc complex |
Rain gutters, plates for building materials, shrink film for bottles … | Tin type |
Wire covering material, sewer pipe, window frame, gutter, … | Lead type |
Akishima Chemical and several other stabilizer manufacturers have made it possible to mold various PVC products by developing superior stabilizer and commercialize them. And these PVC products are active in various places.