By: Nathan Decker & Will Ennis By: Nathan Decker & Will Ennis

Advantages Of Continuing To Manufacture PVC PVC is used in almost all everyday items Commercially: pipes, window frames, sewer systems, rain gutters, siding, airplanes, factory machines, car parts, toys to name a few Personal Use: water bottles, vinyl records, credit cards, wall papers, flooring, garden furniture, binders, and pens Clothing: when PVC is treated with a plasticizer, it can be used in clothing material 90 % of the plasticizer market is consumed by PVC products

What Exactly Is PVC? PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride It is the third most commonly made plastic It is used in construction the most because it is durable, affordable, and easy to work with PVC is a polymer, which is made up of chains or rings of linked units PVC is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and 57 % chlorine Polymers usually have high melting and boiling points C

Petroleum In PVC 43 % of molecular weight of PVC comes from oil PVC is the least dependent plastic on oil Only 4 % of the total oil demand is used to make plastics Only 1/8 of the 4 % is used to make PVC

History of PVC PVC is one of the oldest synthetic materials and the longest history in industrial manufacturing PVC was accidently discovered on at least two different occasions in the 1800s-once in 1838 by a French Chemist and again in 1872 by a German scientist In 1913 a german inventor patented his production of PVC In the 1950`s, the volume of PVC production increased through out the world During this time PVC became known as what we still call it to this day-vinyl

Durability of PVC Long-term - 64%: Pipes, windows, doors, furniture, etc. Its useful life goes from 15 to 100 years. Medium-term - 24%: Electric appliances, cars, tapestry, hoses, toys, etc. Its useful life goes from 2 to 15 years. Short term - 12%: Bottles, packaging, blisters. Its useful life goes from 0 to 2 years. Completely harmless to humans and the environments Resists fire and weather storms, water proof, and can be used as an insulator

Applications Of PVC

Applications of PVC (Cont.) Pipe ranges from ½ inch to 24 inches in diameters

Manufacturing PVC Step 1: Reaction-chemical reactions combine small monomer molecules to form large chain-like polymers Step 2: Recovery-vinyl chloride monomers that did not convert to polymers are removed then recycled and reused Step 3: all remaining water is removed from the polymer liquid, called slurry, which then results into a white powder Step 4: the white powder is called white resin-resin is packed in 25 kilogram bags or one ton bags or poured directly into tanker trucks

Recycling Process of PVC Step 1: Pretreatment: PVC is physically prepared to be changed back into a raw material Step 2: Dissolution: Waste is combined with a prepared solvent in a closed reactor which releases a mixture of compounds Step 3: Separation: centrifuging, decanting, and cycloning are used for separation of the compounds Step 4: Precipitation: Steam is injected to completely evaporate the solvent Step 5: Drying: Slurry is dried and processed water is treated before discharge-more than 99.9% of the original solvent is recovered after this process

Disposal of waste products PVC is safe in disposal PVC can be handled safely by all parts of an organized waist program PVC can be mechanically and feedstock recycled or handled in waist-to-energy programs

Project: In Chemistry last year we were assigned a project that included a researched paper, visual aids, power point and oral presentation of a product that was composed of petroleum. I chose to present on Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). I really enjoyed this project because my dad is a plumber and I have a good bit of knowledge about the uses of PVC in plumbing and general construction. I learned quite a bit more from all the research, for example, PVC was accidentally discovered once by a French chemist inn 1838 and again in 1872 by a German scientist. I also learned that every time we say the word ‘vinyl’ we are talking about PVC! The oral presentation to the class was especially important to me because I had put together an interesting paper and wanted to share my work and enthusiasm with the class. I demonstrated how to affix different diameter pipes using special glue. I built a marshmallow molecule of PVC to show the class what a complex structure it is. I included the class in the construction of the PVC molecule, which everyone seemed to enjoy. Following my presentation I felt comfortable that everyone now knew a little bit more about this amazing substance. This project demonstrates the following expectation: Effective communication: I used many different visual aids and had a strong oral presentation. I used good eye contact and engaged the audience (my class) in the topic as I had them participate in the demonstration. I was surprised when my teacher commented how good it was.