Additive, Preservative, Residual, Contamination Analysis

The common plastics contain polyolefins (PP, PE, PP, PS, PMMA, ABS etc.), PVC and engineeringplastics, etc. Various additives such as plasticizer, fillers, stabilizers, antioxidants and some functional additives are added to enhance certain properties or extend their lifetime. Despite great usefulness in the functionality of polymer products, these additives can contaminate soil, air, water and food, and potentially migrate, undesirably leading to human exposure via food contact materials, such as plastic food packaging. Also, additives can be released from plastics during various recycling and recovery processes as well.

Contamination of plastics and their additives can occur under any circumstances such as during manufacturing, blending, compounding and molding and so on. Contaminants can vary from organic and inorganic microscopic substances to specks, flakes, pellets, melts and gases. Conducting a series of analysis for plastic or polymer products is a very important way to understand material performance and help provide valuable information on the additives used and other substances present such as catalyst residues and volatile organic contaminants (VOCs).

Alfa Chemistry uses a wide range of techniques including spectroscopy, microscopy and chromatography to conduct migration testing, contaminant identification, method development and validation to ensure the materials meet compliance requirements. We have experienced experts with professional knowledge that will bring insights into plastic additives, preservatives, residuals, and contaminants. We can help you better understand the performance and degradation over the product's lifetime. In brief, Alfa Chemistry can provide comprehensive polymer chemical and physical testing in a wide range of applications such as construction industry, automotive industry, packaging, medical devices and consumer products.

• Spectroscopy (FTIR, UV/Vis spectrometry, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR), AAS, XRF, Raman spectroscopy)

• Chromatography (GC, GC-MS, HPLC, LC-MS, GPC, TLC)

• Thermal techniques (DSC, DMTA, TGA)

• Elemental Analysis (ICP-OES, XRF and SEM-EDS)

• Microscopy

• Other classical and wet chemical techniques such as titrations

With professional, experienced technical team and advanced analysis instruments, Alfa Chemistry strictly conduct standard operating procedures from sampling to testing. No matter what your concern is, we are always ready to help. If you have any problems, please contact us.

Reference

• Hahladakis JN, Velis CA, Weber R, Iacovidou E, Purnell P(2018) An overview of chemical additives present in plastics: Migration, release, fate and environmental impact during their use, disposal and recycling, Journal of Hazardous Materials 179-199.