Highly filled blends of a vinylic copolymer with plasticized lignin: Thermal and mechanical properties

The objective of this study was the development of new vinyl flooring formulations with increased resistance to attack by fungi and microorganisms, formulated with plasticizers having chemical compositions different from that of common dioctyl phthalate (DOP). Alkyl phthalate plasticizers are considered to be toxicological and ecotoxicological hazards, although this is still under debate. It is suspected that during the service life of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) flooring, the attack of fungi and microorganisms leads to the degradation of DOP and the release of some volatile organic compounds. For this reason, in the new flooring formulations, the vinyl chloride/vinyl acetate copolymer (VC-VAc) was partially replaced with lignin, a natural polymer and a major component of wood and vascular plants. Besides its other functions in wood, lignin imparts resistance to microorganisms. An organosolv lignin from Alcell Technologies, Inc. (AL), was used as a partial replacement of PVC. The influence of the new plasticizers, as well as the influence of the partial replacement of VC-VAc with lignin, on the morphology and thermal and mechanical properties of the composites was investigated with scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and tensile testing. Butyl benzyl phthalate and diethylene glycol dibenzoate were used as plasticizers; both were compatible with PVC and AL. The results indicated that diethylene glycol dibenzoate was the best plasticizer for these blend composites. In these formulations, AL could replace up to 20 parts of the copolymer. At this level of replacement, the key mechanical properties of the new composites compared very favorably with those of the DOP control formulations. The obtained formulation will be tested further for resistance to fungi and microorganisms. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.