Erasers are items that parents often buy for their children. However, the Yangtze River Delta Consumer Protection Committee and the Shanghai Quality Supervision and Technical Inspection Institute conducted sampling surveys and found that in order to make the erasers brighter, softer, and more flexible, some companies The plasticizer phthalate is added to it, the highest of which exceeds the national standard by more than 350 times.
In addition, there are 9 children's balance bikes containing plasticizers, the maximum value exceeds the national standard by more than 300 times.
In addition to children's products, the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Committee organized a comparative test of high-heeled sandals and found that some high-heeled sandals contain high levels of plasticizers, and there are potential risks such as sensitization and carcinogenesis...
As a chemical that can soften plastics and other materials, plasticizers are widely present in toys, food packaging materials, nail polish, shampoos, medical appliances, and even food products, but some plasticizers may cause tissues Carcinogenesis, disrupting human body secretions, etc.
As a result, bio-based plasticizers, which are non-toxic to the human body and non-polluting to the environment, came into being and became an ideal choice for replacing traditional plasticizers.
Ortho-benzene plasticizers have health risks
Plasticizers, also known as plasticizers, are polymer materials additives that are widely used in industrial production.
Plasticizers can improve the performance of polymer materials, enhance their flexibility, facilitate the bending of products, improve production efficiency, and reduce costs.
As an additive of chemical products, plasticizers are commonly used in the production of plastic products, concrete, gypsum, cosmetics, and medical appliances, especially in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products. In order to increase the strength of the material and increase the plasticity of the material, it is necessary Add phthalates.
With the widespread use of plasticizers in polyvinyl chloride products, the hidden health hazards brought about by this have gradually surfaced.
In the process of long-term use, some plasticizer molecules will always escape from PVC products into the environment.
Phthalates are environmental hormones, which are similar to artificial hormones. Excessive intake of the human body can cause a decline in immunity, endanger male reproductive ability and promote precocious puberty in women. Long-term large intakes can cause liver cancer, which is harmful to infants and young children. The potential harm is much higher than that of adults.
The advantages of bio-based plasticizers are gradually emerging
At present, thousands of plasticizers have been developed and produced in the world, and more than one hundred types of plasticizers have been used in industry.
With the continuous progress of technology and the upgrading of industrial structure, in recent years, plasticizers have shown a development trend of non-toxic and green.
Among them, bio-based plasticizers extracted from biological resources, with biodegradability and excellent plasticizing properties, are considered to be an important development direction of plasticizers.
Bio-based plasticizers have a wide range of sources, simple synthesis methods, high stability, recyclable, non-toxic to humans, and no pollution to the environment. From the perspectives of economy, environmental protection, and health, the competition of bio-based plasticizers The advantages become more obvious, and it is an ideal product to replace traditional ortho-benzene plasticizers.
Especially this year, as the price of crude oil picks up, the cost of petroleum-based plasticizers rises with the price of crude oil, and the cost advantages of bio-based plasticizers have gradually emerged.
At present, commercialized bio-based plasticizer products include epoxidized soybean oil, citrate, epoxidized linseed oil, and fatty acid salts. Epoxidized soybean oil is the most commonly used bio-based plasticizer in the food packaging market. Plasticizer.
The global bio-based plasticizer industry is developing rapidly, and the output of bio-based plasticizers in some developed countries has accounted for more than 15% of all plasticizers.
By 2024, global sales of bio-based plasticizers are expected to reach US$1.657 billion.
my country is the world's largest producer and consumer of plasticizers.
The "In-depth Investigation and Investment Strategic Planning Analysis Report of China's Plastics Additive Industry" issued by the Foresight Industry Research Institute pointed out that in 2020, my country's plastics additives will develop in the direction of non-toxic and green.
Plastic additives that do not meet health and environmental protection requirements will be gradually eliminated, such as certain plasticizers containing harmful substances such as lead and halogen.
Professor Weng Yunxuan, Dean of the School of Materials and Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, told the Science and Technology Daily reporter that bio-based plasticizers belong to
Bio-based materials are processed and produced by using renewable biomass resources, and their strategic position in my country has become increasingly apparent.
Therefore, the development of bio-based plasticizers is an important direction for the plasticizer industry in the future.
Increasing production capacity also needs to increase technical research and development efforts
In recent years, my country has made technological innovations in the research and production of bio-based plasticizers.
For example, the project "Continuous green manufacturing of bio-based non-toxic plasticizers and their derivatives based on microfluidic field reaction technology" hosted by Professor Guo Kai of the School of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering of Nanjing University of Technology won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Invention.
Guo Kai told reporters that the large-scale engineering application of microfluidic field reaction technology is a common international problem. Because the traditional microchannel reaction scale is at the level of 100 microns, once the scale is expanded, the microfluidic field effect of the complex organic chemical reaction system will be lost.
"Traditional microchannel reactors with a scale of 100 microns can only produce plasticizers in the order of 100 kilograms to tons per year, which is difficult to meet the production and market demand. Our research results have been able to maintain the microfluidic field effect at the centimeter scale. A reactor with a large diameter can produce 10,000 tons of plasticizer each year." He said.
In other words, through technological innovation, the production capacity of bio-based non-toxic plasticizers has been increased by nearly ten thousand times.
"The citrate esters and other products produced by our partner manufacturers have passed the certification of China, the United States, the European Union and other domestic and foreign authoritative organizations, which solves the problem of low reaction quality and production safety of bio-based plasticizers." Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering of Nanjing University of Technology Professor Fang Zheng said.
Generally speaking, there are many small and micro enterprises in the plasticizer industry in my country, and the technical level is low. To increase the production capacity of bio-based plasticizers, it is necessary to increase technological innovation.
Zhu Wenwei, chairman of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association, emphasized that with the advancement of environmental protection policies and environmental standards, only companies with sufficient technical reserves and strong R&D capabilities can seize the development opportunities of the bio-based plasticizer industry.
Our reporter Li He