Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Polyvinyl chloride is the plastic known at the hardware store as PVC. This is the PVC from which pipes are made, and PVC pipe is everywhere. PVC was first created by the German chemist Eugen Baumann in 1872. Eugen Baumann never applied for a patent. Vinyl is the second most produced plastic in the world. The first products from vinyl that Walter Semon produced were golf balls and shoe heels. Today, hundreds of products are made from vinyl, including: shower curtains, raincoats, wires, appliances, floor tiles, paints and surface coatings. According to Vinyl institute, Vinyl is made by a series of processes using raw materials like petroleum, natural gas and coal to a synthetic product called as vinyl polymer. You can get more information about polyvinyl chloride at

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PVC is useful because it resists two things that hate each other: fire and water. Because of its water resistance it's used to make raincoats and shower curtains, and of course, water pipes. It has flame resistance, too, because it contains chlorine. When you try to burn PVC, chlorine atoms are released, and chlorine atoms inhibit combustion.

Structurally, PVC is a vinyl polymer. It is similar to polyethylene, but on every other carbon in the backbone chain, one of the hydrogen atoms is replaced with a chlorine atom. It's produced by the free radical polymerization of vinyl chloride. PVC is extensively used for municipal water supply/sewage pipes, spouts, profiles, etc., since its mechanical properties such as tensile strength and tensile modulus are better than those of other general purpose olefin plastics, and these products are robust and durable. When plasticizers are added, PVC shows rubber-like elasticity with high tensile strength and fatigue strength, and can be used for industrial hoses, gaskets, automobile parts, and electric cable covering.

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