Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a widely-used synthetic plastic that has become integral in various industries, particularly construction and manufacturing. Discovered in the 1800s, PVC gained traction in the 1920s when American scientist Waldo Semon identified its potential for waterproof applications, leading to its use in products like raincoats. Over the decades, PVC's versatility has seen it adopted for numerous applications, including piping, flooring, and electrical insulation, particularly during World War II when it was utilized for ship wiring.
Today, PVC ranks as the third best-selling plastic globally, with extensive use across construction, textiles, transportation, and healthcare. Its unique chemical composition confers several advantageous properties: it is durable, fire-resistant, waterproof, and resistant to a variety of chemicals. These characteristics contribute to its appeal for long-lasting applications, as PVC pipes can last up to 100 years under proper conditions. Additionally, PVC can be easily molded and produced in various colors and textures, making it suitable for a wide range of products. As global demand for PVC continues to grow, its production involves complex processes that ensure it remains a cost-effective and sustainable material choice.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a common synthetic material used in many fields, most often construction and manufacturing. Scientists first discovered PVC by accident in the 1800s, but only in the early 1900s did people begin discovering its potential uses. In 1926, American scientist Waldo Semon helped to popularize PVC for many purposes. In the coming decades, the material was adopted by the construction industry, the military, and many textile producers.
In modern times, PVC is one of the best-selling plastics in the world. People produce and use millions of tons of it in a wide variety of applications. PVC is most common in construction, generally in pipes, moldings, and flooring. Manufacturers also turn the material into eating and drinking ware, cable insulation, vinyl fabric, and many other products. The unique chemical composition of PVC makes it fire resistant, waterproof, and easily processed and molded into many forms.
Brief History
Before the creation of plastic and other synthetic building materials, people could only use what nature provided, such as wood and metal, to create what they needed to live. For hundreds of years, scientists and engineers searched for ways to create new, durable, inexpensive materials that could replace increasingly rare, limited, and costly natural resources in construction projects.
Two chemists independently discovered PVC in the 1800s. French scientist Henri Victor Regnault (in the 1830s) and German scientist Eugen Baumann (in the 1870s) both inadvertently created PVC while they experimented with vinyl chloride gases. The new material caught their attention but did not seem to have any practical purposes at the time, so they did not investigate any further.
The early twentieth century saw new interest in the mysterious material. Another German scientist, Friedrich Heinrich August Klatte, created PVC by exposing vinyl chloride to sunlight. He patented his discoveries in 1913. Still, PVC remained a little-known curiosity until the middle of the 1920s. At that time, an American scientist named Waldo Semon, who worked for the B.F. Goodrich Company in Akron, Ohio, discovered an innovative use for PVC.
In 1926, Semon was researching rubber used in tires manufactured by Goodrich. His tasks were to discover how rubber could be bonded to metal, and whether expensive natural rubber could be replaced by a new synthetic material. Semon's experiments yielded PVC, but he could not find a way to use that material to benefit the company. However, he did note that PVC was waterproof, and realized that PVC could coat fabrics for raincoats and other water-resistant products.
Semon experimented with PVC, adding new chemicals to the mixture to refine a waterproof and fire-resistant material that could be used to construct many products. This new material was an instant success in the 1930s and 1940s. In World War II (1939–1945), navies used PVC to insulate electrical wiring on their ships. In the 1950s, engineers discovered the potentials of PVC for the construction industry. PVC and similar materials, often referred to as "vinyl," became a common material in clothing as well.
Topic Today
By the 1980s, many new applications had been discovered for PVC, and the demand for the material was growing steadily and rapidly. In the twenty-first century, PVC is the third best-selling plastic worldwide. It is extensively used in such fields as construction, textile production, transportation, computer technology, and even health care. Manufacturers and builders generally consider PVC a durable, inexpensive, and easy-to-use material.
Modern PVC is created through a complex chemical process involving several raw materials. These materials include ethylene, a petrochemical product made from natural gas, and chlorine, a material produced from industrial salt and other materials via the chlor-alkali process of electrolysis. Ethylene and chlorine are combined and transformed into a new material called vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). VCM can exist in a liquid or gaseous state.
The word monomer in vinyl chloride monomer refers to a tiny chemical molecule, the smallest and simplest unit of the chemical. During the chemical process that creates PVC, huge numbers of microscopic monomers link to produce long chains called polymers. This process is called polymerization, and it creates PVC in the form of white powder. Producers then combine this powder with other chemical ingredients to create the final PVC material used in a variety of applications.
The unique formation and ingredients in PVC give it several beneficial properties. One such property is non-toxicity, meaning it is not poisonous, and resistance to many chemicals. The formation of PVC makes it resistant to the most frequently encountered chemicals including acids. That means it will not deform or break down when put in contact with most elements. This property makes PVC valuable for piping, ductwork, tubes, and even drinking ware.
A property of PVC that makes it very valuable in many industries is its durability. The chemical reactions that create PVC link its molecules very strongly, making it resist to damage over lengthy periods. Generally, PVC pipes can last for fifty years with no loss of strength or stability. Experts believe modern PVC can easily last one hundred years under fair conditions. At the same time, PVC can be easily processed, molded, and adapted to many forms to create a wide variety of products, such as car parts, home flooring, electric cables, and fashionable boots. It can be produced in many colors and with different textures.
Another important property of PVC is fire resistance. The chlorine in PVC makes it able to withstand extremely high temperatures, up to approximately 850 degrees Fahrenheit (454 degrees Celsius), without combusting. Even when PVC burns, it gives off relatively little heat, making the fire less likely to spread. This quality of PVC makes it a safe choice for construction projects.
Globally, people use about thirty-five million tons of PVC each year, with that figure steadily growing. The most common uses are in pipes, pipefittings, and moldings for doors and windows. Bottles and plates, cable insulation, flooring panels, and vinyl fabric are other major uses. Many industries turn to PVC for its durability, low cost, and safety qualities such as fire resistance and waterproofing. PVC also creates less pollution than many other forms of material, lasts longer, and may be recyclable.
Bibliography
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