What is the composition of plasticizers

Plasticizers refer to organic substances that increase the plasticity of plastics, improve the fluidity of resins during molding, and make products flexible. It is usually a viscous liquid or low melting point solid with high boiling and difficult to evaporate, and generally does not undergo chemical reactions with plastics.

The plasticizer must first have good compatibility with the resin, and the better the compatibility, the better its plasticizing effect. Adding plasticizers can reduce the glass transition temperature of plastics, making hard and rigid plastics soft and flexible. Generally, the plasticizer is also required to be colorless, non-toxic, odorless, light resistant, heat resistant, cold resistant, volatile and less migratory, nonflammable, with good chemical stability, and cheap and easy to obtain. In fact, a plasticizer cannot meet all the above requirements.

Plasticizers are divided into main plasticizers based on their functions, namely solvent based plasticizers; Auxiliary plasticizers, i.e. non solvent plasticizers; Catalyst type plasticizer; According to its chemical structure, it can be divided into phthalates, fatty acid esters, phosphate esters, polyesters, epoxy esters, chlorinated compounds, etc. Commonly used plasticizers include dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dioctyl phthalate (DOP), epoxy soybean oil, trimethylphenyl phosphate, triphenyl phosphate, dioctyl sebacate, chlorinated paraffin, etc. PVC is the main end user of these plasticizers. The main application areas of PVC with plasticizers added include wires, cables, floor and wall veneers, building materials, automobiles, and packaging materials.

The amount of plasticizer used in plastic additives is relatively large. The total production capacity of China is about 1 million tons, and plasticizers are mainly phthalates with excellent comprehensive performance and price. The consumption of the four major production and consumption countries and regions in the world - the United States, Western Europe, Japan, and China - accounts for 70% to 90%.