Polyvinylchloride

Product Description

Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer.

It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups (ethenyls) having one hydrogen replaced by chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely produced plastic, after polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC is widely used in construction because it is cheap, durable, and easy to assemble.

It can be made softer and more flexible by the addition of plasticizers, the most widely used being phthalates. In this form, it is used in clothing and upholstery, electrical cable insulation, inflatable products and many other applications in which it would originally have replaced rubber.

PVC is a controversial material in that during its production, useful life and incineration, especially in accidental and uncontrolled circumstances, it may liberate persistent toxins which the manufacture, use and destruction of suitable alternative plastics such as polypropylene do not.