Manufacturing nonhazardous polyvinylchloride-based materials

Аннотация

Polyvinylchloride has been widely used in manufacturing drinking water pipes, medical devices and foodstuff packing. In these areas special requirements are imposed on the materials applied – the absence of harmful effect on the contact media. A detailed analysis of the factors effecting the production and use of nonhazardous polyvinylchloride-based materials is presented. The analysis of the international experience (USA, Europe) of the countries where polyvinylchloride is hugely more used than in Russia has been carried out. The main conclusion was the requirement of avoiding the addition of any toxic and hazardous substances into polyvinylchloride. At present most of polyvinylchloride produced in the world is used in manufacturing rigid pipes for drinking water. The basic advantages of these pipes compared to the pipes made of other polymers are higher strength, lifetime and microbiological persistence. Pipes made of polyvinylchloride are sole polymer pipes with long term operation actually proved in practice and not by calculations. In North America polyvinylchloride pipes have been in operation already for more than 40 years and have not lost their field performance. The innovative technologies of pipe modification by the biaxial orientation method provide for improving their rigidity and strength, as well as for reducing the wall thickness and saving the material consumption. Owing to the great number of polyvinylchloride trade marks in production that are nonhazardous in contact with drinking water and foodstuff the interest to these polymers has been growing in Russia too. The absence of harmful substances emission from these materials has been monitored by the sanitary and hygienic control authorities.

Ключевые слова

safety , polyvinylchloride , waste utilization , water and wastewater pipes , PVC conversion