IJIRST International Journal for Innovative Research in Science & Technology| Volume 3 | Issue 10 | March 2017

ISSN (online): 2349-6010

Review on Study of Mechanical Behavior of

Different Vegetable Oil and Fly Ash Reinforced
PVC Plastics
Preeti Gupta Mahmood Alam
Research Scholar Assistant Professor
Integral University Lucknow Integral University Lucknow

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the mechanical behaviour of vegetable oil & fly ash reinforced Poly Vinyl Chloride
(PVC) composite, to develop more stable and flexible PVC. Vegetable oils can be easily used with PVC due to their availability,
biodegradability, low cost, low toxicity& environmental characteristics whereas Fly ash is also easily available at low cost. Here
Epoxidised Vegetable Oils (EVOs) are used at the place of phthalates in PVC to make it non-toxic and Fly ash is added to
increase mechanical properties.
Keywords: PVC; Epoxidised Vegetable Oils, Flyash; Reinforcement
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I. INTRODUCTION

Poly Vinyl Chloride is one of the most using thermoplastic material after Polypropylene & Polyethylene. It is made by
polymerization of Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) or Chloroethene. It is known for its various properties such as durability, high
thermal & oxidation resistance, high ignition temperature etc. PVC was being extensively used with the consumption of 39.3
million metric tons in 2013. [1]

Fig. 01: Formation of VCM [19]

Fig. 02: Formation of PVC [19]

PVC is subjected to a different conflation of physical and mechanical properties which makes it different from other
thermoplastics. After Polyethylene PVC is the second most produced thermoplastic. [2] PVC possesses a high value of ratio
between strength & weight. It is corrosion resistance which makes it more durable & usable. It is also known for its service life
as 60% of PVC can be used for 15-100 years. PVC has various applications in building & pipe construction, transportation,
packing of materials, covers, agricultural industry, electric power communication etc. [1-2].

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 Review on Study of Mechanical Behavior of Different Vegetable Oil and Fly Ash Reinforced PVC Plastics
(IJIRST/ Volume 3 / Issue 10/ 030)

Fig. 02: Production of PVC [18]

Table 1
Different characteristics of PVC [20]
Specific Gravity 1.3-1.7
Elongation 24-145%
Tensile Strength 7300 psi
Compressive Strength 7250-8120psi
Melting point 140-3500C
Thermal Conductivity 0.14-0.28 W/m-K
Density 1.38 g/cm3
PVC can also be used for packaging of medicines, blood, foods and chemicals for which it should possess high flexibility[2].
But PVC is rigid in nature with low thermal stability and it is difficult to process. In case of low thermal stability PVC starts
decomposing in Hydro Chloric Acid (HCl) and on the exposure of sunlight or high temperature it starts degrading, which makes
PVC toxic & inapplicable for medical purpose [7]. To overcome these limitations different additives are added. It is very
important to evolve biodegradable and eco-friendly polymers for healthy environmental conditions[6]. In this paper Vegetable
Oil and Fly ash are used as additives for PVC to make it more useful and enrich in properties.
Reinforcement of different vegetable oils
Vegetable oils are non-conventional and maintainable source of raw material. Vegetable oils are basically made of triglycerides
which are also known as Triacylglycerol (TAG)[4].
CH2OH R.COOH CH2.O.COR
| |
CH.OH + R.COOH CH.O.C.OR + 3H2O
| |
CH2OH R.COOH CH2.O.COR
(Glycerol+3 fatty acids = Triglyceride)
Fig. 03: Formation of triglycerides [21]

Triglycerides are formed by the combination of glycerol and three fatty acids i.e. linolenic acid, linoleic acid& oleic acid [5].

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 Review on Study of Mechanical Behavior of Different Vegetable Oil and Fly Ash Reinforced PVC Plastics
(IJIRST/ Volume 3 / Issue 10/ 030)

Fig. 04: Linolenic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid [22]

Mainly vegetable oils are extracted from peanut, corn, linseed, soyabean at large level where as coconut, palm, at lower level.[7]
Types of vegetable oil:
Vegetable oils are of different types but mainly it is classified by its source and use. Vegetable oils are classified as-
By origin: vegetable oils which are not derived from the roots or seeds of the plant. For example- Walnut oil, Almond oil,
Peanut oil etc.
By operation: vegetable oils which are derived from roots or seeds of the plant. For example- Sunflower oil, Soyabean oil,
Olive oil etc.
Vegetable oils are used as plasticizers, stabilizers and fillers in PVC to make it more stable [1]. For the remarkable
improvements in behaviour of PVC epoxidised vegetable oils are the righteous alternative for the conventional phthalates [7].
These plasticizers and stabilizers are required to be added in PVC to prevent it from degradation.[3] . Phthalates were being used
as plasticizers since 1930 and Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was the most extensively used plasticizer. These conventional
plasticizers start degrading at high temperature and exposure to solar radiation [2]. It causes high toxicity& unhealthy conditions.
It has led to the development of renewable resources with low toxicity and high bio-degradability. These renewable sources are
epoxidised vegetable oil such as epoxidised soyabean oil, epoxidised sunflower oil, epoxidised linseed oil etc.[4] Epoxidised
vegetable oils are more reactive as compare to vegetable oils as EVOs possess functional epoxide groups by which it can easily
make network with materials[8].
For example:
Epoxidised soyabean oil can be used as primary and secondary plasticizer as well as stabilizer for PVC that reduces
scavenging of HCl and made PVC more stable [9].
Palm oil can also be added in plasticized PVC as a co-plasticizer which enhances different thermal & mechanical properties of
PVC composite. This combination provides a compound of higher tensile strength & elastic modulus.[1]
Epoxidised sesame and peanut oil can be used at the place of epoxidised soyabean oil in PVC. Sesame and peanut oil have
better molecular attraction with PVC as compare to soyabean oil.[17]
Epoxidised sunflower oil is used as secondary stabilizer in the presence of Calcium/Zinc stearate which shows extravagant
properties. This combination reduces the chances of discoloration of PVC at high temperature and thermal stability[12]
The epoxidised linseed oil can be used at the place of phthalates. On mixing epoxidised linseed oil in PVC a rigid network has
been made. This new composite shows low toxicity and less degradation of PVC at high temperature.[2]
Table 2
Different vegetable oils and their applications [4]
Vegetable oils Application
Sunflower and Soyabean oil Stabilization
Soyabean and Rapeseed oil Lubrication
Castor oil, Sunflower oil, Linseed oil, Soyabean oil, Camphor oil Plasticization
Coconut and Palm oil Surfactants
Linseed and Castor oil Paints,Coatings

Reinforcement of Fly ash:

Fly ash is an industrial waste, composed of fine particles and generated at time of combustion of coal. Use of fly ash in making
composite reduces the problem of disposal & storage of it as well as a eco-friendly environment can also be achieved. [17]
It mainly consists of, aluminium oxide, silicon oxide and calcium oxide with different elements like Phosphorus, Magnesium,
Potassium, Calcium, Copper, Zinc etc.
Table 3
Chemical composition of fly ash [7]
Component Content (wt %)
Class F Class C
Silicon 23.95 26.39
Oxygen 17.28 13.75
Aluminium 14.25 15.00
Iron 22.65 5.77
Calcium 13.22 26.78

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 Review on Study of Mechanical Behavior of Different Vegetable Oil and Fly Ash Reinforced PVC Plastics
(IJIRST/ Volume 3 / Issue 10/ 030)

Potassium 1.58 1.77

Sodium 1.05 1.27
Titanium 1.04 0.77
Sulphur 3.11 1.15
Magnesium 1.08 2.10
Carbon 0.53 0.57
Fly ash is also known as coal ash, pulverized flue ash and pozzolona. It is of grey colour, light in weight and refractory in
nature.
Classification of Fly ash
On the basis of lime constituents fly ash can be categorised in two classes-
Class F: It consists of low quantity of lime with more than 70% of weight of ash (SiO2+Al2O3+Fe2O3). Anthracite of
bituminous coal is used for the production of class F type fly ash.
Class C: It consists of high quantity of lime with 50% to 70% of weight of ash (SiO2+Al2O3+Fe2O3). Lignite coal or sub
bituminous coal is used for the production of class C type fly ash
Reinforcement of fly ash in PVC makes it more useful in construction work as fly ash is easily available at low cost[7]. Fly
ash creates air pollution when it is discharged to atmosphere. It is suggested by EPA in 2014 that fly ash should be used to
reduce air contamination. By using fly ash as a reinforcing agent in PVC serves dual purpose of enhancing its mechanical
properties as well as protecting environment from air pollution.
By using fly ash as a filler in PVC a new compound has been made with high tensile strength, elastic modulus and reduction
in elongation on increasingmean while fly ash makes the compound more rigid. [15]
Use of fly ash with PVC increases the tensile strength upto 50%. This increment in mechanical property is attained by adding
20% fly ash whereas impact strength reduces on increasing percentage of fly ash. [13]

II. MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR

It has been observed there is an enhanced improvement in the mechanical behaviour of PVC by adding epoxidised vegetable oils
and fly ash. PVC along with fly ash can be used with vegetable oil for construction work whereas epoxidised vegetable oil works
as plasticizer and stabilizer. Fly ash and epoxidised vegetable oil enhance the mechanical properties like thermal conductivity,
tensile and compressive strength.[8] It can be understood by the following data-
1) Phthalates, the conventional plasticizers used in PVC have been replaced by epoxidised soyabean oil. Epoxidised soyabean
oil is used as plasticizer as well as stabiliser to reduce the degradation of PVC during processing at high temperature [10-
11]. Addition of this oil prevents PVC from devolution as well as provides stability and flexibility to PVC.[10]
2) Epoxidised sunflower oil is used as secondary stabilizer in PVC & show excellent properties when used with Ca/Zn
stearates. [12]
3) Epoxidised linseed oil, epoxidised castor oil, epoxidised palm oil are also used in PVC for different applications. Similarly
fly ash increases mechanical properties of PVC with lower content of it. But higher concentration of fly ash starts reducing
the properties. [13]
4) Addition of different epoxidised vegetable oil and fly ash in PVC shows different variation in mechanical properties. When
30% fly ash and 40% epoxidised vegetable oil has been added to PVC, mechanical properties increased whereas on
increasing the value of fly ash and oil from 30% & 40% a reduction in mechanical properties has been observed. [17]
5) Fly ash & sunflower oil reinforced PVC shows excellent compatibility and suggests a new composite for developing future
material. [14]

III. CONCLUSION

This study examines the of use of fly ash & different epoxidised vegetable oils with PVC as reinforcing agent. It has been
noticed that different epoxidised vegetable oils make PVC more flexible& stable, non-degradable at high temperature whereas
fly ash can be used with PVC in construction work. It can also be seen that using fly ash along with vegetable oil in PVC
increases thermal conductivity, tensile & compressive strength and reduces abrasion loss.

REFERENCES
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(IJIRST/ Volume 3 / Issue 10/ 030)

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[18] http://chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2001/esser/manufacture.html.
[19] https://lh3.googleusercontent.com
[20] http://www.plasticsintl.com/pvc.htm
[21] http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/ab470e/AB470E03.htm
[22] http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/acetylcoa/acoac.html

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