What Are plasticisers?
 A plasticiser is a substance which when added to a
material, usually a plastic, makes it flexible, resilient and
easier to handle. Early examples of plasticisers include water to
soften clay and oils to plasticise pitch for waterproofing ancient
boats. Today, modern plasticisers are manmade organic chemicals;
the majority of which are esters, such as adipates and
phthalates.
Importantly, they are not just additives (like pigments or
fillers). They are major components that determine the physical
properties of polymer products.
They are colourless, odourless liquids produced by a simple
chemical reaction, whereby molecules of water are eliminated from
commercially produced petrochemical products.
There are more than 300 different types of plasticisers of which
between 50 and 100 are in commercial use. The most commonly used
plasticisers are phthalates.
In Western Europe about one million tonnes of phthalates are
produced each year, of which approximately 900,000 tonnes are used
to plasticise PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The most common are:
diisononyl phthalate (DINP) diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and
di-2-ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP, sometimes also referred to as
DOP).
Predominantly, phthalates are used in the plastics industry to
soften the popular plastic PVC. This is used to make a diverse
range of cost effective products with various levels of technical
performance suited to a wide range of applications. Many of these
PVC products we use everyday but tend to take for granted. They
include everything from lifesaving medical devices such as medical
tubing and blood bags, to footwear, electrical cables; packaging,
stationery, and toys. In addition, phthalates are used in other
non-PVC applications such as paints, rubber products, adhesives and
some cosmetics.
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