VOLATILE EMISSIONS DURING THERMOPLASTICS PROCESSING - A REVIEW

Types and amounts of volatiles emitted during thermoplastics processing depend upon the chemical structure of the material and the choice of processing conditions. The identification of volatiles and the development of analytical techniques for measuring their concentration in the workplace are of paramount importance to establish or revise threshold limit values that would minimize exposure to hazardous chemical substances and lead to corrective action. In this review, information related to the types of volatiles emanating from injection molding machines and extruders as well as analytical methods for their measurement was collected, analyzed, and tabulated. Emphasis was placed on the four major commodity plastics, viz., polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polystyrene (PS). Although the main emphasis is on emissions during processing, related literature under simulated conditions is also mentioned. (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.