Kinetic modeling of the thermal degradation of stabilized PVC plastisols

Thermogravimetric analysis (TG) was used in this work to study the degradation kinetics of industrial PVC plastisols. In order to model the pyrolitic degradation of plastisols in nitrogen, a kinetic model based on phenomenological considerations was developed. Two different processes were observed during the first degradation stage. The model parameters, such as activation energies and pseudo orders of reaction, were calculated using a non-linear regression analysis. The model developed was able to describe the degradation behaviour both in isothermal and in dynamic modes. The results of such analysis were applied to obtain long-term data from short-term experiments as an engineering approach to evaluate the thermal resistance of plastisols.