2022 The Complete Guide To Plasticizer: The Ultimate Guide
Plasticizer is a polymer material additive widely used in industrial production, also known as plasticizer. It is added to the material to make it softer and more flexible, to increase the plasticity of a substance, to reduce its viscosity or to reduce friction during the manufacturing process.
Plasticizers are usually added to polymers to facilitate the handling of raw materials during the manufacturing process or to meet the needs of the final product application. For example, plasticizers are usually added to polyvinyl chloride (PVC), otherwise it will become hard and brittle, making it soft and volatile. This makes it suitable for products such as vinyl flooring, clothes, bags, hoses and wire coatings.
Such as inorganic plasticizers
Concrete
In concrete technology, plasticizers and superplasticizers are also called high-range water reducers. When added to concrete mixtures, they impart many properties, including improved workability and strength. The strength of concrete is inversely proportional to the amount of water added (that is, the water-cement ratio (w/c)). In order to produce stronger concrete, less water needs to be added, which makes the concrete mixture difficult to construct and difficult to mix. Therefore, plasticizers, water reducers, superplasticizers, fluidizers or dispersants must be used.
When pozzolan is added to concrete to increase strength, plasticizers are also often used. This mixing ratio method is particularly popular in the production of high-strength concrete and fiber-reinforced concrete.
It is usually sufficient to add 1-2% plasticizer per unit weight of cement. Adding too much plasticizer will cause excessive segregation of concrete, so it is not recommended. Depending on the specific chemicals used, using too much plasticizer may have a blocking effect.
Plasticizers are usually produced from lignosulfonates, which are by-products of the paper industry. Superplasticizers are usually produced from sulfonated naphthalene condensates or sulfonated melamine formaldehyde, although new products based on polycarboxylic ethers are now available. Traditional lignosulfonate-based plasticizers, naphthalene and melamine sulfonate-based superplasticizers disperse the flocculated cement particles through an electrostatic repulsion mechanism. In ordinary plasticizers, active substances are adsorbed on cement particles, making them negatively charged, which leads to repulsion between the particles. Lignin, naphthalene and melamine sulfonate superplasticizers are organic polymers. Long molecules wrap them around cement particles, making them highly negatively charged and repel each other.
The role of polycarboxylate ether superplasticizer (PCE) or polycarboxylate (PC) alone is different from that of sulfonate-based superplasticizers, dispersing cement through steric stabilization. The effect of this dispersion form is stronger and improves the workability of the cement mixture.
Stucco
Plasticizers can be added to the wallboard stucco mix to improve workability. In order to reduce the energy consumed to dry the wallboard, less water is added, which makes gypsum mixtures very infeasible and difficult to mix, so plasticizers, water reducers or dispersants must be used. Some studies have also shown that too much lignosulfonate dispersant may cause hysteresis. The data indicated that amorphous crystal formation occurred, which impaired the interaction of the mechanical needle-like crystals in the core, thereby preventing a stronger core. The chelating agent in sugar, lignosulfonate (such as aldonic acid) and extraction compound mainly play a role of blocking. These low-range water-reducing dispersants are usually made of lignosulfonate, a by-product of the paper industry.
High-range superplasticizers are usually produced from sulfonated naphthalene condensates, although polycarboxylate ethers represent a more modern alternative. These high-range water reducers are used at 1/2 to 1/3 of the type of lignosulfonate.
Traditional lignosulfonate and naphthalenesulfonate-based plasticizers disperse the flocculated gypsum particles through an electrostatic repulsion mechanism. In conventional plasticizers, the active substance is adsorbed on the gypsum particles, making them negatively charged, which leads to repulsion between the particles. Lignin and naphthalene sulfonate plasticizers are organic polymers. Long molecules wrap themselves around gypsum particles, making them highly negatively charged and repel each other.
Energetic materials
Pyrotechnic compositions of high-energy materials, especially solid rocket propellants and smokeless powders for guns, often use plasticizers to improve the physical properties of the propellant binder or the entire propellant to provide auxiliary fuel, and under ideal conditions , Improve specific energy output (such as specific impulse). High-energy plasticizers improve the physical properties of high-energy materials and at the same time increase their specific energy yield. High-energy plasticizers are generally preferable to non-high-energy plasticizers, especially for solid rocket propellants. High-energy plasticizers reduce the mass of propellant required, allowing rocket vehicles to carry more payloads or achieve higher speeds. However, due to safety or cost considerations, even non-energetic plasticizers may be required in rocket propellants. The solid rocket propellant is used to fuel the space shuttle. The solid rocket booster uses HTPB, a synthetic rubber, as a non-high-energy secondary fuel.
Gypsum drywall application
The plasticizer used in the gypsum drywall is also called a dispersant, which can increase the processability of the gypsum before it sets. In order to reduce the energy required to dry the dry wall, less water is added during production, and the processability at this time will become worse. Adding a plasticizer can improve its processability. However, if an excessive amount of plasticizer is added, a retardation effect will occur and the strength of the gypsum dry wall will also deteriorate.
Energetic material application
Energetic materials and pyrotechnic agents generally use plasticizers. On the one hand, they can improve the physical properties of the propellant or its binder. On the other hand, it can also be used as an auxiliary fuel to increase the propulsion provided by the unit mass of fuel (ie Than punch). In solid rocket propellants and smokeless powders, plasticizers are particularly needed to improve physical properties or increase specific impulse. Plasticizers that can increase specific impulse are generally called energetic plasticizers. The advantage is that it can reduce the mass of the propellant, increase the rocket load or increase its maximum speed.
Food packaging
Polylactic acid (PLA) has its unique advantages when used as food packaging materials. It can completely replace traditional packaging materials, and its unique environmental protection makes it an important place in the future development of packaging materials. PLA material has a smooth surface and a high degree of transparency, so it can compete with polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in food packaging applications. PLA is currently used in rigid packaging such as fruits and vegetables, eggs, cooked food and baked goods. PLA film is being used in the packaging of goods such as sandwiches, biscuits and flowers. There are also applications for blowing PLA into bottles for packaging water, soup, food, and edible oil.
The cling film often used in daily life, one is a non-additive PE (polyethylene) material, which has poor viscosity; the other is PVC (polyvinyl chloride) cling film, which has a large amount of plasticizer to make PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) material becomes softer and increases viscosity, suitable for fresh food packaging, so it is more widely used. Another product that contains plasticizers is children’s toys made of PVC. The European Union has specified that the content of plasticizers in plastic toys must be less than 0.1%. Cosmetics such as perfume and nail polish often used by women also contain plasticizers.
What is the role of plasticizers and detection methods?
The role of plasticizers
Plasticizers are bulk industrial products, widely used in various fields of the national economy, including plastics, rubber, adhesives, cellulose, resins, medical devices, cables and thousands of other products.
For example, the general commonly used cling film, one is no additives PE (polyethylene) material, but its viscosity is poor; another widely used is PVC (polyvinyl chloride) cling film, there are a large number of plasticizers to make PVC (polyvinyl chloride) material soft and increase viscosity, ideal for fresh food packaging.
Another widely available plasticizer products are children’s toys made of PVC, the EU has explicitly plastic toys in the content of plasticizers need to be less than 0.1%, but there are no clear regulations or restrictions in Taiwan.
Women often use perfume, nail polish and other cosmetics, phthalates as a fragrance fixing agent to maintain the smell of fragrance, or to make nail polish film smoother.
Plasticizer detection method
At present, the detection of plasticizers mainly use gas analysis technology and liquid analysis technology. Gas method of analysis of plasticizers has the advantage of no background interference problems, but the gas method for liquid samples containing water can not be directly into the sample processing, and long running time, about 30 minutes, and sensitivity is not as high as the liquid method. From the perspective of responding to the challenges of regulations and the increasing number of sample sources, as well as the types of plasticizers, liquid mass analysis technology is more forward-looking. However, the liquid-liquid technique also has its drawbacks, namely, the background interference of plasticizers is too high, which seriously affects the characterization and quantification.
Flame retardant plasticizers of the same series
| Lcflex® T-50 | T-50; ASE | CAS 91082-17-6 |
| Lcflex® ATBC | Acetyl tributyl citrate | CAS 77-90-7 |
| Lcflex® TBC | Tributyl citrate | CAS 77-94-1 |
| Lcflex® TCPP | TCPP flame retardant | CAS 13674-84-5 |
| Lcflex® DOTP | Dioctyl terephthalate | CAS 6422-86-2 |
| Lcflex® DEP | Diethyl phthalate | CAS 84-66-2 |
| Lcflex® TEC | triethyl citrate | CAS 77-93-0 |
| Lcflex® DOA | Dioctyl adipate | CAS 123-79-5 |
| Lcflex® DOS | SEBACIC ACID DI-N-OCTYL ESTER | CAS 2432-87-3 |
| Lcflex® DINP | Diisononyl Phthalate | CAS 28553-12-0/685 15-48-0 |
| Lcflex® TMP | Trimethylolpropane | CAS 77-99-6 |
| Lcflex® TEP | Triethyl phosphate | CAS 78-40-0 |
| Lcflex® TOTM | Trioctyl trimellitate | CAS 3319-31-1 |
| Lcflex® BBP | Bio-based plasticizers, High-efficiency plasticizer | |
| Lcflex® TMP | Trimethylol propane | CAS 77-99-6 |
| Lcflare® TCEP | Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate | CAS 115-96-8 |
| Lcflare® BDP | Bisphenol-A bis(diphenyl phosphate) | CAS 5945-33-5 |
| Lcflare® TPP | Triphenyl phosphate | CAS 115-86-6 |
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