Design of environmentally friendly PVC plasticizers through value added recycling of commodity plast

Research leader

Prof. Minna Hakkarainen

Project information

During the project methods will be developed to chemically recycle polyethylene. The produced monomers together with monomers from renewable resources will be used as raw materials for synthesis of novel poly(vinyl chloride), PVC plasticizers. The new plasticizers will also be modified to introduce a heat stabilization function; they will be evaluated as dual plasticizer-stabilizers. The blend and migration properties for the new PVC/plasticizer blends will be investigated in order to evaluate the effect of chemical and macromolecular structure on the blend and long-term properties. The degradation and stabilization mechanisms for the new PVC/plasticizers and PVC/plasticizer-stabilizer blends will also be determined.