The development of eco-friendly plasticizers is urgent - Guangyuan Ruifeng New Materials

Category: Eco-friendly plasticizers (popular science, no products)

Release Time: 2020-09-23

Summary: Plasticizers are one of the world's largest-produced and consumed plastic additives. In recent years, China has become the country with the largest production and consumption of plasticizers in Asia. With the increasing environmental awareness of countries around the world, plastic products such as medical and food packaging, daily necessities, and toys have put forward higher requirements for the purity and hygiene of the main plasticizer DOP, etc. However, the main plasticizers currently produced by domestic enterprises are difficult to meet the environmental requirements in many aspects, especially in terms of hygiene and low toxicity.

Plasticizers are one of the world's highest-volume plastic additives in terms of production and consumption. In recent years, China has become the country with the highest production and consumption of plasticizers in Asia. With increasing environmental awareness worldwide, plastic products used in pharmaceutical and food packaging, daily necessities, and toys, etc., are demanding higher purity and hygiene standards for primary plasticizers such as DOP. However, currently, the primary plasticizers produced by domestic enterprises fall short in many aspects, especially in terms of hygiene and low toxicity, failing to meet environmental requirements.

The European Union and Russia have both detected toxic polyvinyl chloride plasticizers diisononyl phthalate (DINP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP, or DOP) in plastic toys imported from China.

For a long time, plasticizers have been mainly phthalate-based products. However, with the increasingly widespread use of DOP in the food and pharmaceutical industries, concerns about its toxicity have grown. Some studies have found DOP in the human body, particularly in the lungs, after blood transfusions stored in polyvinyl chloride plastic bags.

In 1982, the authoritative US National Cancer Institute conducted a bioassay on the carcinogenicity of DOP, concluding that DOP is carcinogenic to rats and mice, causing liver cancer in rodents. This brought the toxicity of DOP to global attention. Although whether it causes cancer in humans remains debated, its potential carcinogenic risk has prompted various countries to take measures.

Based on the National Cancer Institute's findings, the US Environmental Protection Agency has halted the production of six new phthalate industrial chemicals. DOP is restricted to use in high-water-content food packaging, while meat packaging must use other non-toxic plasticizer alternatives. The Swiss government has banned DOP in children's toys; Germany has banned DOP in all plastic products related to human hygiene and food; and Japan has banned DOP in medical devices, limiting its use to industrial plastic products.

According to research results and standards from Europe, the US, Japan, and South Korea, DOP (DEHP) is more harmful than DOA (DEHA). For example, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) considers DEHA concentrations above 0.3 mg/kg in the human body unsafe, while DEHP concentrations above 0.05 mg/kg are considered unsafe. DOA and DOP are currently widely used plasticizers in domestic polyvinyl chloride food preservation films. DOP, in particular, is the most widely used plasticizer and is extensively used in food packaging.

Among the ten primary plasticizers allowed in China's PVC preservation films, the first is dioctyl adipate (DEHA, or DOA). The next three are phthalate plasticizers DBP, DOP, and DIOP, all relatively more toxic than DEHA. Due to the higher production cost of DOA, most domestic PVC preservation film manufacturers use DOP and DBP as primary plasticizers. This increases the chance of plasticizer migration into packaged food, especially fatty meats, or when heated in a microwave, posing potential health risks.

However, it is relatively safer when used for vegetables, especially those washed before consumption or food preparation.

Although the carcinogenicity of DOP remains debated internationally, its potential carcinogenic risk has led to measures restricting its use.

Based on the National Cancer Institute's research, the US Environmental Protection Agency has stopped the industrial production of six phthalate esters. The Swiss government has banned DOP in children's toys; Germany has banned DOP in all plastic products related to human hygiene and food; and in Japan, DOP is limited to industrial plastic products. Globally, research and development of non-toxic plasticizers, particularly for plastic products with high hygiene requirements, is accelerating.

In China, however, DOP and other plasticizers phased out abroad still have a large market share, and plasticizer manufacturers have not paid sufficient attention to the development and promotion of new non-toxic plasticizers. Eighty percent of the plasticizers on the domestic market are DOP and DBP (dibutyl phthalate), primarily due to their low cost. The national standard "Sanitary Standard for Additives Used in Food Containers and Packaging Materials" also lists DOP as a plasticizer allowed in food packaging.

Recent test results from Tongji University show that plasticizers harmful to the human body can leach into edible oil stored in plastic barrels. A research team led by Professor Li Shuguang from the Basic Medical College of Tongji University collected samples of various brands and production dates of plastic-barreled soybean salad oil, blended oil, and peanut oil, as well as unpackaged soybean oil, solid shortening used for frying food at a fast-food restaurant, and condensed oil collected from kitchen exhaust hoods.

The research team found that almost all brands of plastic-barreled edible oil contained dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and dioctyl phthalate (DOP), two commonly used phthalate plasticizers in the plastics industry. Unpackaged soybean oil and solid shortening contained almost no plasticizers.

This suggests that the plasticizers detected in edible oil primarily originate from the plastic containers. Currently, most of the oil consumed daily by countless Chinese families is purchased in plastic barrels. However, current national standards do not include plasticizers in the physicochemical indicators for edible oil testing, nor do they specify or require limits on plasticizer content. Due to the lag in relevant Chinese standards, this is just the tip of the iceberg of plasticizer contamination. The widespread use of plasticizers, the large area of contamination, and the number of people affected far exceed those of pesticides and DDT.

Keywords: The development of eco-friendly plasticizers is urgent - Guangyuan Ruifeng New Materials

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