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-organ ics and phtalates are considered now as ubiquitous global contaminants due to their potential as weak endocrine disrupter and huge consumption. In ord er to make PVC acceptable for the irradiation processing-industry in the lo ng 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. Mec hanical properties, optical properties and viscosity were measured and comp ared. The elongation and mechanical strength were under the usual range and they didn't show any significant change in the studied range of irradiatio n dose. All the samples showed a weak yellowing effect after irradiation an d the molecular weight measured by viscosimetry showed only negligible chan ges. In conclusion, DOP and ESO were shown to be effective in stabilizing t he radiolytic abstraction of HCl from PVC. Both plasticizers imparted good color stability and overall properties to the products. (C) 2000 Elsevier S cience Ltd. All rights reserved.