PVC PLASTICISERS | ADDITIVES
compatibility. Getting the replacement right the first time is faster and less expensive than correct- ing a validation failure at scale.” Several bio-based primary plasticiser grades of
high efficiency have been successful and viable on the commercial scale, according to consultant Peter Frenkel. Use of bio-based plasticisers in flexible PVC applications has benefited their carbon footprint, but also enhanced certain performance attributes, such as extractability, smoke generation, heat stability and low temperature flexibility, he said. Development of new plasticisers has involved
research into alternative chemistries, with several the subject of peer-reviewed research studies. A study titled New Biobased Plasticisers for PVC Derived from Saturated Dimerised Fatty Acids, which was first published in the journal Materials in May 2025, explores the use of bio-based oli- goesters as a non-toxic and harmless alternative. “New plasticisers were obtained by polyesterifica-
tion of saturated dimerised fatty acid (DFA), adipic acid (ADA), triethylene glycol, and 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH), and were characterised by nuclear magnetic resonance, size exclusion chromatography, and viscosity analyses,” said the study, written by
researchers at Silesian University of Technology in Poland. “The compatibility of the obtained oli- goesters with PVC was determined using the method for obtaining PVC films by casting from a THF solution. Selected plasticisers were used to obtain PVC blends at 50 phr. They were then tested for plasticiser migration, hardness, thermogravimet- ric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and mechanical strength. Their properties were com- pared with the commercially available monomeric plasticisers di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate and di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate.” The study concluded that oligoesters obtained
at a molar ratio of ADA to DFA of 9:1 and using an excess of 2-EH exhibit very good compatibility and plasticising ability while the use of higher amounts of DFA worsens the compatibility of the oligoesters with PVC. However, a 4:1 ADA-to-DFA molar ratio produced results that still allow for the use of these compounds as plasticisers at lower concentrations or in combination with other plasticisers.
Bio-based solutions Many recent studies have focused on bio-based plasticisers derived from vegetable oils, with the
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