PVC | PLASTICISERS
sustainability, which it calls Sustainable Solutions Steering. The company uses the method for its own products and has made it available to third parties as well. Using this method, DOTP and DINCH are classified as “Accelerators,” which are defined as products that have a “substantial sustainability contribution in the value chain.” In medical and healthcare applications, which are
Above: The medical industry is looking for good
performing phthalate-free plasticisers
and dipentyl terephthalate (DPT) under the name Elatur DPT. It describes Elatur DPT as a fast-fusing, low viscosity plasticiser with a very low semivolatile organic compound content and says it is especially effective in combination with Elatur CH in a variety of plastisol applications (Figure 1). Orthophthalate plasticiser alternatives continue
to expand in use in North America, according to Patrick Harmon, Industry Manager for BASF Industrial Petrochemicals, who says growth is being led by dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP). “The toys and childcare market have already shifted to alternative plasticisers since global regulations were enacted in the 2000s. Various reports show that DINCH [such as BASF’s Hexamoll DINCH], DOTP and ATBC [acetyl tributyl citrate] are the most common plasticisers used for these applications. Retailers and brands also continue to drive additional substitution.” The company says that its Palatinol DOTP has been shown to have low toxicity using the GreenScreen hazard assessment methodology and is listed in the CleanGredients database using the US EPA Safer Choice criteria. BASF has its own program for analysing how products contribute to
highly regulated, concerns about additive safety are a critical issue that has driven some shift to alternative plasticisers, but change is slow due to the costs and regulatory process. In Europe, the new medical device regulation that will go into effect in 2021 may increase the pace of change, suggests Harmon. In the new regulation, substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (CMR) 1a and 1b (which includes DEHP) are restricted unless there is a justification. BASF says that the European Pharmacopoeia has been updated to now include DINCH, DOTP, tris (2-ethylhexyl) trimellitate (TOTM), and n-butyryl-tri- n-hexyl citrate (BTHC) as alternatives to DEHP in medical device applications.
Phthalate-free norm “Globally phthalate-free solutions are becoming the norm, with DOTP gradually replacing medical-grade DOP [dioctyl phthalate] in the medical sector,” says Marat Avetisov, Sales Director, Plastics and Organic Synthesis Products at Sibur. The Russian-made medical compound and items based on it have been certified by the country’s Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare (Roszdravnadzor). Sibur says that in Russia DOTP is being used to
make plastic containers for transfusion of blood and its components, for example. DOTP properties claimed to be beneficial for these applications include low volatility and low odour. Compared to DOP, DEHP, and DINP, DOTP has increased volume resistivity, better thermal stability, and improved mechanical characteristics in PVC compounds, the
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