This application note demonstrates EGA and Multi-Step Pyrolysis of two different vinyl polymers.
The plastics and rubber industry play a significant role in bringing us to the modern age, which emphasizes the balance between life convenience and environmental sustainability. From the very beginning of this industry, four different categories of additives were incorporated into the products as stabilizers, plasticizers, lubricants and flame retardants. The function of these additives were to either enhance the physical performance of the finished products or to assist the manufacturing process.
A vast number of chemical species are being used as polymer additives nowadays. The molecular weight of common additives varies from 200 to 1000 Da with a wide range of boiling points. These additives placed a major challenge in the quality control process. As a matter of fact, a single step pyrolysis GC/MS analysis often produces cluttered chromatograms without adequate separation within residual solvents, pyrolysis fragments, contaminants, and additives. Evolved Gas Analysis (EGA) in conjunction with multi-step pyrolysis can address this challenge very effectively. EGA provides thermal information which can be used to select appropriate multi-step thermal extraction temperatures. Each thermally sliced chromatogram will further provide sample separation to yield well-resolved chemical information.
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