University scientists have created a plasticizer for PVC from waste from the oil and fat and pulp and paper industries.
Scientists from Gubkin University have studied waste from the oil and fat industry and byproducts from the forest chemical industry and developed a method for converting them into raw materials for the petrochemical industry.
At this stage, plasticizers for PVC have been obtained, and in the future, the waste could be used to create additives for mineral diesel fuel and reagents for oilfield chemistry. The work was carried out at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Ecology under the supervision of Professor Stanislav Meshcheryakov of the Department of Industrial Ecology.
Using transesterification, the scientists obtained butyl and isobutyl ethers from various types of fat-containing waste and studied them as plasticizers for PVC. Plasticizers are substances added to PVC to impart elasticity. Plasticizers created from natural raw materials are used in the production of many materials today. A new method makes it possible to create an additive from inexpensive waste.
A research team of graduate and postgraduate students from Gubkin University is currently conducting reactions with various raw materials. The resulting samples will later be studied as products with potential applications in various fields.
Egor Burov, Deputy Head of the Department of Organic Chemistry and Petroleum Chemistry for Research and Associate Professor, PhD, spoke with a correspondent from the Scientific Russia portal about the development in detail.
