POLYMER ADDITIVES

Polymers are used in ALL aspects of our lives, including pharmaceutical packaging and medical device preparation.Without the use of the proper stabilization package, polymers will degrade. Interaction with oxygen and light can cause significant degradation of the polymer. These degradationproducts are potential leachables and extractables.Often, blends of stabilizers will be used to protect the polymer at various stages throughout the polymer lifecycle.An organophosphite, may be used as a short-termantioxidant to protect the polymer during the high temperature and shear conditions of processing. A phenolic antioxidant may then be used for long-term protection.Additives may be incorporated into a product either as neat material or as a concentrate or masterbatch.A masterbatch is polymer resin containing a high concentration of the additive to be incorporated. The polymer resin may contain its own stabilizationpackage, which may or may not be different than thepackage used in the final product. (More potentialleachables and extractables!) Some additives are designed to transform during use.An organophosphite, for example, will be oxidized to form the phosphate. In this case, BOTH the phosphite and phosphate are potential leachables and extractables. Polymer stabilization is a dynamic process resulting in everchanging transformation and degradation products all potential leachables and extractables. Additives can also provide special effects or properties to the polymer system. Benzophenones or benzotriazoles can provide UV protection to a polymer. Phenylglyoxylates can serve as photoinitiators in a UV curable coating. Colorants dyes or pigments used to impart a particular color to a polymer system. Each of these compounds poses the potential for leachables and extractables.

Additives provide to Plastics: Stabilization To retain the original molecular architecture of the polymer under the effect heat, light etc.and Functionalization To provide additional attributes to the polymer which add value for end use application.

Identification of Polymer Additives Polymer additive identification and analysis. Intertek laboratories offers a comprehensive analytical approach for the chemical identification of polymer additives: To begin the process, the polymer is extracted using an appropriate solvent. The selection of the correct solvent for a particular polymer is essential for the successful extraction of polymer additives. Intertek MSG has huge experience in this area. The polymer extract is then analysed by LC-MS and GC-MS using Intertek MSG's in-house database of 80 polymer additives in addition to the NIST 2008 library of GC-MS spectra (containing more than 191000 spectra). Polymer additives have different chemical and physical properties. LC-MS and GC-MS are complementary analytical techniques, their combined use maximises the chance of a successful analysis. LC-MS is better for high molecular weight and more polar additives. GC-MS is better for low molecular weight and less polar additives.

In one example, an LC-MS chromatogram of a polypropylene extract sample contained the additives dioctylphthalate, Tinuvin 312, Irganox 1010 and Irgafos 168. Dioctylphthalate is a plasticiser, Tinuvin 312 is a UV absorber, Irganox 1010 is an antioxidant and Irgafos 168 is a processing stabiliser. Intertek offers on-line pyrolysis-GC-MS of polymer chips as a quick low cost procedure to get preliminary data on polymer additives. This technique does not have the comprehensive scope of the solvent extraction-LCMS/GC-MS procedure.

ADDITIVES additives are any chemical substance that adds or changes the properties of a plastic so as to render the plastic more useful.for example plasticizer is an additive used to make plastic more flexible. additive are chemical substances which when incorporated into polymer changes physical and bulk properties Plastic From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Plastic (disambiguation).

Household items made of various types of plastic A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids that are moldable. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high molecular mass, but they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals, but many are partially natural.
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Composition Most plastics contain organic polymers. The vast majority of these polymers are based on chains of carbon atoms alone or with oxygen, sulfur, or nitrogen as well. The backbone is that part of the chain on the main "path" linking a large number of repeat units together. To customize the properties of a plastic, different molecular groups "hang" from the backbone (usually they are "hung" as part of the monomers before the monomers are linked together to form the polymer chain). The structure of these "side chains" influence the properties of the polymer. This fine tuning of the properties of the polymer by repeating unit's molecular structure has allowed plastics to become an indispensable part of the twenty-first century world.

Additives Most plastics contain other organic or inorganic compounds blended in. The amount of additives ranges from zero percentage for polymers used to wrap foods to more than 50% for certain electronic applications. The average content of additives is 20% by weight of the polymer. Fillers improve performance and/or reduce production costs. Stabilizing additives include fire retardants to lower the flammability of the material. Many plastics contain fillers, relatively inert and inexpensive materials that make the product cheaper by weight. Typically fillers are mineral in origin, e.g., chalk. Some fillers are more chemically active and are called reinforcing agents. Since many organic polymers are too rigid for particular applications, they are blended with plasticizers, oily compounds that confer improved rheology. Colorants are common additives, although their weight contribution is small. Many [2] of the controversies associated with plastics are associated with the additives. Classification Plastics are usually classified by their chemical structure of the polymer's backbone and side chains. Some important groups in these classifications are the acrylics, polyesters, silicones, polyurethanes, andhalogenated plastics. Plastics can also be classified by the chemical process used in their [3] synthesis, such as condensation, polyaddition, and cross-linking. Thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers There are two types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. Thermoplastics are the plastics that do not undergo chemical change in their composition when heated and can be molded again and again. Examples include polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, [4] and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Common thermoplastics range from 20,000 to 500,000 amu, while thermosets are assumed to have infinite molecular weight. These chains are made up of many repeating molecular units, known as repeat units, derived from monomers; each polymer chain will have several thousand repeating units. Thermosets can melt and take shape once; after they have solidified, they stay solid. In the thermosetting process, a chemical reaction occurs that is irreversible. The vulcanization of rubber is a thermosetting process. Before heating with sulfur, the polyisoprene is a tacky, slightly runny material, but after vulcanization the product is rigid and non-tacky. Other classifications Other classifications are based on qualities that are relevant for manufacturing or product design. Examples of such classes are the thermoplastic and thermoset, elastomer, structural, biodegradable, andelectrically conductive. Plastics can also be classified by various physical properties, such as density, tensile strength, glass transition temperature, and resistance to various chemical products. Natural vs synthetic Main article: Bioplastic Most plastics are produced from petrochemicals. Motivated by the finiteness of petrochemical reserves and possibility of global warming, bioplastics are being developed. Bioplastics are made [6] substantially from renewable plant materials such as cellulose and starch. In comparison to the global consumption of all flexible packaging, estimated at 12.3 million tonnes/year, estimates put global production capacity at 327,000 tonnes/year for related bio-derived [7][8] materials. Crystalline vs amorphous Some plastics are partially crystalline and partially amorphous in molecular structure, giving them both a melting point (the temperature at which the attractive intermolecular forces are overcome) and one or more glass transitions (temperatures above which the extent of localized molecular flexibility is substantially increased). The so-called semi-crystalline plastics include polyethylene, polypropylene, poly (vinyl chloride), polyamides (nylons), polyesters and some polyurethanes. Many plastics are completely amorphous, such as polystyrene and its copolymers, poly (methyl methacrylate), and all thermosets.

Representative polymers

Polystyrene Main articles: Polystyrene and PVC

Plastic piping and firestops being installed in Ontario. Certain plastic pipes can be used in some noncombustible buildings, provided they are firestopped properly and that the flame spread ratings comply with the localbuilding code. Polystyrene is a rigid, brittle, inexpensive plastic that has been used to make plastic model kits and similar knick-knacks. It would also be the basis for one of the most popular "foamed" plastics, under the name styrene foam or Styrofoam. Foam plastics can be synthesized in an "open cell" form, in which the foam bubbles are interconnected, as in an absorbent sponge, and "closed cell", in which all the bubbles are distinct, like tiny balloons, as in gas-filled foam insulation and flotation devices. In the late 1950s, high impact styrene was introduced, which was not brittle. It finds much current use as the substance of toy figurines and novelties.

Styrene polymerization