PVC stabilisers: a 15 year-journey on the sustainability road. Carolina Susin ; Alain Cavallero ESPA

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Brenda Mosley
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1 PVC stabilisers: a 15 year-journey on the sustainability road Carolina Susin ; Alain Cavallero ESPA

2 ESPA Yes we made it! In EU-28, what about other regions? Circular economy and recycling The future is.sustainable use of PVC additives 2

3 European Stabiliser Producers Association Pan-European trade association representing > 95% of the PVC stabiliser industry across Europe ( Affiliated to Cefic - the European Chemical Industry Council ( Founding member of VinylPlus ( 3

4 ESPA represents 3 families of chemistries of stabilisers Calcium-based stabilisers (including calcium-zinc and calcium organic) for food contact and medical, also used to replace all lead-based systems; Tin-based stabilisers used primarily in rigid transparent PVC including food contact use; Liquid stabilisers used in a wide range of flexible PVC including calendered sheets and flooring; ESPA supports the recycling of PVC articles that were once manufactured with lead-based stabilisers. 4

5 ESPA 2017: 10 Members 5

6 The last 15 years. 160, , ,000 Tonnes of formulated stabilisers per year Pb and COS from 2000 till 2016 ELSA EU 28 ECOSA EU ,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20, Source ESPA ELSA European Lead Stabilisers Association ECOSA European Calcium Organic Stabilisers Association 6

7 and we did it! This is a success example of the European PVC industry voluntary commitment We can proudly say that we have achieved our goal to replace Pb-based stabilisers in PVC applications in the EU-28, by the end of This was inspected and confirmed by an external audit company. 7

8 But there is still a long road ahead of us Source ESPA COS Calcium-based Stabilisers Sn Tin-based Stabilisers Pb Lead-based Stabilisers LMM Liquid Mixed Metals Stab. 8

9 Circular Economy and recycling (I) PVC: mainly used in the building & construction sector, in articles with a long life (50 years not unusual) can be recycled several times Mechanical recycling is the best option to give a second and new life to an article 9

10 Circular Economy and recycling (II) PVC is largely recycled in articles such as window frames and sewer pipes After crushing, the old PVC articles can be mixed with virgin PVC resin The stabilisers remain embedded in the PVC matrix PVC is a perfect example for the circular economy in 2013 TAUW 1 study to calculate the decrease of lead content in recycled PVC over time

11 TAUW study - available PVC waste Available PVC waste with > 0.1 % lead (tonnes) Rigid Flexible 11

12 TAUW study - impact of policy options A workable option suggested by this study is the following one: Prohibition with an exemption to use recycled material in building and construction products, without a restriction limit or with a 1% restriction threshold, until a later review date. This option will allow recycling almost 15 Mio tonnes (of which 12.5 Mio tonnes will still contain lead) Note: the threshold of 1% of Pb content is a round arbitrary number selected for the study 12

13 What is at risk? A restriction to mechanical recycling PVC means old PVC articles would be incinerated. This is against the circular economy principles. Does recycling pose a risk to human health and to the environment? migration study by FABES 13

14 FABES migration study (2015) 50 Concentration in DW, C W (t), ( g/litre) Zn Pb Cd Migration time, t, (Days) 14

15 FABES migration study Diffusion coefficients, D P, (cm²/s) x Rigid PVC Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 30 C 70 C 30 C 70 C 30 C 70 C 30 C 70 C 0.6** 2.0** 1.5** 3.0** 0.04** ** 1.5* Flexible PVC (20% of plasticisers) Diffusion coefficients, Dp, (cm²/s) x Sample 5 Sample 6 Sample 7 30 C 70 C 30 C 70 C 30 C 70 C 60.0* 85.0* 4.0* ** *) and **) indicate mild and significant deviations, respectively, from the theoretical curve 15

16 FABES migration study: conclusions At 30 0 Pb diffusion coefficient in rigid PVC is below cm²/s. As any other flexible plastics, also flexible PVC has a higher diffusion coefficient However, because of the low water solubility of Pb stabilisers, this results in a very low migration of lead from PVC into water. 16

17 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) VITO developed a LCA on calcium and zinc based stabilisers LCA results : stabilisers added to PVC do not have a major contribution to the environmental footprint of the final PVC compound LCA results are being used by TEPPFA to update their EPD for pipes 17

18 Conclusions ESPA, co-founding of VinylPlus, has brought a major contribution to the programme s five key challenges. The Voluntary Commitment of the European PVC industry to replace lead-based stabilisers has triggered the European market to switch to alternative stabilisers systems. 18

19 Conclusions (continued) Stabilisers remain embedded in the PVC polymer matrix, and PVC is, therefore, a material very well suited for recycling, fully in line with the EU roadmap on circular economy. ESPA is working with The Natural Step (TNS) and VinylPlus to explore options to continuously progress on the sustainable use of PVC additives. 19

20 A huge success! We can proudly say that we have achieved our goal to replace Pb-based stabilisers in PVC applications in the EU-28, by the end of

21 21

About PVC stabilisers and Sustainability PVC Cables 2014 Workshop

About PVC stabilisers and Sustainability PVC Cables 2014 Workshop 20 th November 2014, Bologna (IT) Dr. Alain Cavallero Content About ESPA Sustainability: definition, measure and other considerations Sustainability