PVC ? origin, growth, and future

Application of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was first described in a patent in 1913, but only after 1930 did a sustained interest in PVC arise in a number of industrial laboratories. Nowadays PVC is the second thermoplastic resin behind polyolefins with a worldwide capacity of ca. 31 million tons. In its nearly 70 year history, PVC has contributed to much progress in polymer science and technology, e. g., to emulsion and suspension polymerization, detailed analysis of polymer structure, chemistry of stabilization, plasticization, chemical modification, and plastics processing. But PVC also plays an important role in many environmental discussions on polymers, e. g. chlorine chemistry, toxicity of vinyl chloride, or waste and recycling problems. Within the time frame of 70 years, some recent developments in controlled polymerization of vinyl chloride, stabilization, modification of bulk properties and chemical and material recycling of PVC are discussed.