Engineering360: "A Phthalate Substitute Promises Safer Plastics"

If there is worry over potentiial health problems fromphthalates leaching out of plastic we use .... maybe people should stop exposing themselves to phthalates with the myriad of air fresheners and scented oils and candles that disperse phthalates to into the air for the expess purpose of dumbing down your olfactory nerves hence ,'cleaning the air of odors'.

Anybody besides me a little bit skeptical about the wisdom of pouring boiling water into a "BPA free", I-feel-so-much-better-now, plastic AeroPress coffee maker? I bet my AeroPress gets lighter with every cup as the phthalates leach into my morning joe. :(

How about those memory foam beds that people sleep on.. can you imagine the amount of plasticizer that is soaked in that polymer? and people lie in bed and breathe that for 1/3 of their daily life.

i can imagine that some day (when someone gets smart enough to realize that this is a hazard) these beds will be discontinued as lawsuits knock the sellers out of business.

I know that the Chinese manufacturers could care less what they put in them.

You are right, there may be significant exposure there. Still it seems that it would probably be dwarfed by the exposure from phthalates intentionally aerosolized speficically into indoor breathing space for the purpose of breathing scented air.

What type of phthalate base is it? Co or Zn?

Hint: phthalates are used as accelerators; so they react with monomers included the PVC.

"... phthalates are used as accelerators; so they react with ..."

Could you elaborate?

AFAIK: Phthalates are used as plasticizers most commonly (not accelerators that I can think of, though an example to the contrary would be enlightening/appreciated). Phthalatates when intimately mixed with polymer obstruct polymer chains from linking to each other to varying degrees....allowing chains to slide and move less rigidly. As such phthalates are generally not well bonded, which is why leaching can be problematic.

yes that is how i have used them over the years with Benzyl Butyl Phthalate the plasticizer of choice for ceramic tape casting using organic solvents.

I use a polymer/ceramic powder thin film to make ceramic widgets.

these tapes are made using something similar to paint which is poured on a mylar film and as the film is pulled under a " Doctor Blade" which is a metering device that is bacially a slit that allows a desired thickness to be cast on the mylar film. after the slurry-slip-paint dries, it is removed from the mylar and used.

The tape would crack if no plasticizer were used. the plasticizer will usually last aprox. 6 mts. to a year before the plasticizer evaporates out.