Polyvinyl Chloride And Rubbermaid Baskets

Compared to most other materials, plastics have been introduced relatively recently. In fact, many of the major developments in plastics technology have occurred over the last 50 years. One plastic that currently finds widespread application in the construction industry is polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Although PVC has been around for over 100 years, it wasn't developed commercially until about the 1930s. The pure resin consists of a linear polymer. The compound's chlorine atoms cause considerable inter-chain attraction. Hence, in its pure state, the material is hard and rigid. With modifying agents, however, PVC can be softened to produce an entire array of flexible products. Indeed, the substance may be the most versatile of the plastics. PVC is currently found in cable sheathing, house siding, plumbing, household wares, office furniture, toys, packaging, and wallpaper. In fact, it accounts for nearly a third of all plastics products. One specific product which might be manufactured from PVC is wastepaper baskets. Recently, the Rubbermaid Corporation has responded to public environmental concern by introducing several products made entirely from recycled materials. PVC represents a cost-effective alternative material for many such items.

Although the vinyl chloride monomer may have been prepared earlier by Liebig, its synthesis was first reported by Regnault in 1835. Regnault formulated the compound by treat

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hod of manufacturing vinyl chloride requires ethylene instead of acetylene. Ethylene dichloride is produced by reacting liquid ethylene with chlorine at between 30-50?C using an iron chloride catalyst. The ethylene dichloride is then heated in tubes at 300-600?C. After dehydrochlorination, the vinyl chloride monomer is recovered by distillation. This technique is perhaps the least expensive. Commercial vinyl chloride polymerization generally involves free radical mechanisms. It can occur in bulk, in suspension, and in emulsion. One bulk commercial process was performed by Pechiney-St. Gobain in France until the mid-1960s. It involved the polymerization of vinyl chloride with 0.8 percent of its own weight of benzoyl peroxide in a rotating cylinder containing steel balls. At 58?C the process required 17 hours. More recently, a two-stage bulk polymerization process has been developed. The first stage involves liquid monomer, and results in about 15 percent conversion. The second stage is carried out as a powder, and provides about 80-85 percent conversion. In contrast, suspension polymerizations are easier to control than bulk polymerizations. The dispersing system itself and the rate of stirring can be used to modulat
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