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History of PVC
PVC was first created by the German
chemist Eugen Baumann in 1872. However it was never patented until
1913. Inventor, Friedrich Heinrich August Klatte initiated the
polymerisation of vinyl chloride with sunlight. Klatte was the
first person to receive a patent for PVC.
Waldo Lonsbury Semon worked for the
B.F. Goodrich Company in the United States as a researcher. In 1926,
Semon invented plasticized PVC or vinyl. He was trying to
dehydrohalogenate PVC in a high boiling solvent in order to obtain
an unsaturated polymer that might bond rubber to metal or for any
other useful purpose. He
began experimenting with the discarded material by combining it with
other chemicals and exposing it to heat. The result was plasticized
polyvinyl chloride - which we now call PVC or vinyl - a flexible
"gel" that had striking similarities to natural rubber.
Throughout the late 1920s, Semon continued to experiment with this
new material, but BFGoodrich had a difficult time marketing it.
Semon received United States patents
numbers 1,929,453 and 2,188,396 for the "Synthetic Rubber-like
Composition and Method of Making Same; Method of Preparing Polyvinyl
Halide Products."
The 1930s
Vinyl (PVC or polyvinyl
chloride) remained a laboratory curiosity until its first commercial
use - shock absorber seals - opened the eyes of industry to other
potential applications that might reduce the country's dependence on
limited rubber resources. Of note, flexible vinyl was used to
develop the first American synthetic tires, which we have on our
cars today.
These early successes led to further experimentation with vinyl
formulations. Vinyl plastisol, a solution of vinyl resin in
plasticizer, was first used as a coating to make waterproof fabric
for a number of products. Today, vinyl-coated fabrics are used to
make everything from durable, lightweight inflatable rafts to
easy-to-clean, attractive wallcovering.
The 1940s
Vinyl played a significant role for the armed forces
during World War II, addressing severe shortages of natural rubber.
As a result of its superior safety and performance as a nonflammable
electrical wire coating, vinyl has remained the standard material
for wire insulation.
The 1950s
Vinyl's capabilities continued to diversify, as new
formulations further expanded the material's physical properties and
opened new markets. The most important innovation came when
irrigation pipe made from rigid vinyl was introduced to the United
States. Now the largest market for vinyl production, PVC pipe is
recognized as a less expensive, non-corrosive and more easily
installed alternative to metal pipe.
Plastics Timeline
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Plastics
Timeline |
|
1839 |
Natural rubber |
Charles Goodyear |
|
1839 |
Polystyrene discovered |
Eduord Simon |
|
1843 |
Vulcanite |
Thomas Hancock |
|
1856 |
Shellac |
Alfred Chritchlow |
|
1872 |
PVC |
Eugen
Baumann |
|
1894 |
Rayon |
Charles Cross |
|
1909 |
Phenol Formaldehyde (Bakelite) |
Leo Baekeland |
|
1926 |
Vinyl (PVC)
Invented a way to make PVC useful |
Walter Semon |
|
1936 |
Acrylic or Polymethyl |
|
|
1938 |
Polystyrene made practical |
|
|
1938 |
Teflon |
Roy Plunkett |
|
1939 |
Nylon |
|
|
1941 |
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
Polyester |
Whinfield and Dickson |
|
1942 |
Unsaturated Polyester |
|
|
1951 |
Polypropylene |
Paul Hogan and Robert Banks |
|
1964 |
Polyamide |
|
|
1970 |
Thermoplastic Polyester |
|
|
1978 |
Linear Low Density Ployethylene |
|
|
1985 |
Liquid Crystal Polymers |
|
Waldo L. Semon
Born Sep 10 1898 - Died May 26 1999
Inducted into the inventors hall of
fame in 1995
In 1926 Waldo Semon, newly employed in the research department at
The BFGoodrich Company in Akron, Ohio, decided to pursue a dubious
project. Instead of digging into his assigned work, he began trying
to dissolve an undesirable material called polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
to create an adhesive for bonding rubber to metal.
'People then thought of PVC as worthless back then,' Semon recalled.
'They'd throw it in the trash.'
Semon never succeeded in creating the adhesive, but by heating PVC
in a solvent at a high boiling point he discovered a substance that
was both flexible and elastic. At first no one literally knew what
to make of Semon's newfangled substance, but decades later PVC has
become the world's second-best-selling plastic, generating billions
of dollars in sales each year.
Inventor Biography
Born in Demopolis, Alabama, Semon moved to the Pacific Northwest
when he was seven. In 1916 he entered the a University of Washington
determined to be a chemist. He graduated cum laude in 1920 then
continued his studies at the University of Washington, where he
received his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1923.
After a short period as an instructor at the university, Semon
joined BFGoodrich. While research director at BFG, Semon provided
the technical leadership that fuelled the discovery of three major
new families of polymeric materials: thermoplastic polyurethane,
synthetic 'natural' rubber, and the first oil-resistant synthetic
rubbers.
Following his retirement from BFG in 1963 Semon served as a research
professor at Kent State University. Based on his belief that young
people are the future of the country, throughout his life he
assisted local schools in providing science education.
Semon was awarded 116 U.S. patents.
Interestingly, Semon took the most
pleasure out of another invention that was far less heralded than
PVC. That invention was synthetic rubber bubble gum. It
looked just like ordinary gum, except that it would blow these great
big bubbles, he said years ago.
Invention Impact
His invention has helped advance technology and society beyond what
was imaginable 50 years prior to his inventions. How many
children have found hours of fun, if not sore jaws, from chewing
bubble gum.
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