Substance for Success.

Technical Information PVC-TI 1

Viscosity Depressants
PVC Plastisol Applications
Technical Information PVC-TI 1

Viscosity Depressants

Content

Why Viscosity Depressants? Page 3

How does VISCOBYK work? Page 4

Product Volatility Page 4

Emission Test Methods Page 5

Application Examples Page 6

2
 Technical Information PVC-TI 1

Why Viscosity Typical Shear Ranges

Depressants?
s -1
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10 000 100 000
It is important to adjust the viscosity Storage
for each type of manufacturing Transport Pumping, Stirring, Mixing
process. This ensures consistent
processing and high product quality. Settling
Viscosity () is the key factor in describing
Knife, Roll Coating Spraying
flow behavior. In most plastisol systems,
viscosity is not a constant. Sagging
Leveling
It depends on a variety of parameters.
To a great extent, it determines the
usability and user-friendliness of the figure 2
PVC plastisol.

The three most important factors Shear Rate Dependent on Coating Gap
en­­­countered in PVC plastisol
formulating are:
1. Raw material properties
17500
Shear rate (s-1)

2. Temperature parameters
3. Rheology factors.
15000
Rheology is the interrelationship
between viscosity and shear forces,
12500
which can be very complex.
10000
The most important rheological parameter
from the application standpoint is the 7500
mechanical stress the liquid system is
exposed to. 5000

2500
Shear Rate Calculation Example
0
0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.05
Line speed x Conversion factor Coating gap (mm)
Shear rate =
Coating gap

Speed 25 m/min 82 ft/min

Coating gap 0.1 mm 2.5 mils
Line speed (m/min) X 10 X 25 X 50 figure 3

Conversion factor ~ 16.7 ~ 127

25 x 16.7 82 x 127
Shear rate =
0.1 2.5 VISCOBYK Product Viscosity Independent from Temperature
~ 4170 s -1 ~ 4170 s -1

200
Viscosity (mPa·s)

figure 1

150
VISCOBYK-4000 Series
are unique viscosity depressants that 100
have application in most plastisol
formulations. They provide maximum 50
raw material, formulation and application
flexibility. 0
5/41 10/50 15/59 20/68 25/ 77 30/86
Temperature in °C/°F

X VISCOBYK X Primary plasticizer figure 4

3
Technical Information PVC-TI 1

Plastisol Without VISCOBYK How does

VISCOBYK work?

interactive forces VISCOBYK Viscosity Depressants

work in two steps:

1. The mixtures of aliphatic hydrocarbons

or carboxylic derivatives are specially
Solid developed to reduce the viscosity in the
liquid phase of the PVC plastisol.

liquid phase PVC resin

2. The special wetting and dispersing
components adsorb onto the particle
sur­faces, reducing the interactive
figure 5 forces be­tween them preventing
reagglomeration.
Plastisol With VISCOBYK VISCOBYK viscosity depressants allow
for easier movement of the particles.
This stabilizes the viscosity and storage
behavior of the whole system (figure 6).
liquid phase PVC resin
Note:
For increased flow improvement of
highly filled plastisols, we recommend
a combi­nation of VISCOBYK and
DISPERPLAST additives.
Solid
This includes PVC plastisols that are
used for fiber impregnation.

wetting and dispersing additive aliphatic hydrocarbons / carboxylic acid derivatives

figure 6

Volatility Behavior

Product Volatility
Volatility (%) at 200° C/392° F

100

80 Additives of the VISCOBYK-5000 series

are low volatile viscosity depressants.
60
During production the process emissions
40 are reduced significantly compared
20
to con­ventional viscosity depressants
(figure 7).
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
These additives perform similarly to
Time (min) primary plasticizers in regards to their
low volatility. This is in sharp contrast
to secondary plasticizers (e.g. TXIB,
X Conventional viscosity depressants and secondary plasticizers figure 7 Dodecylbenzene).
X VISCOBYK-5000 series
X Primary plasticizer

4
 Technical Information PVC-TI 1

Emission Test Nord Test (Chamber Method)

Methods

To determine the VOCs (Volatile Organic

Compounds) of building materials (e.g.
Cushion Vinyl Floorings), the analytical
laboratory of BYK uses the following
instrumentation:

1. Nord Test (Chamber Method)

This test specifies a procedure for the
de­­termination of emission of volatile
organic compounds from building figure 8
materials in a small, ventilated climate
(figure 8).
FLEC
2. FLEC Test (Field Laboratory (Field Laboratory Emission Cell)
Emission Cell)
FLEC is a small piece of equipment
that is easy to handle and easy to clean
(figure 9). It was designed to measure
volatile, organic compounds emitted
from smooth and even surfaces. It can
be used for emission testing in the
laboratory and at building sites.

The FLEC system is widely used due to

its measurement flexibility.

With both types of test equipment,

the sample material’s emissions are figure 9
collected in a tenax tube (figure 10).
The quantity and quality can be
determined by use of analytical Flow Chart of VOC Measurement
equipment, such as the gas chromato-
graph and mass spectrophotometer.

The air velocity over the test material’s 4

surface area can be 50 to 100 times
greater with the FLEC equipment than
the Chamber method.

3 6 1 Test sample
2 Synthetic Air
2 1
3 Water
5 4 50% RH
5 Tenax Tube
7
6 Chamber
7 FLEC
1

figure 10

5
Technical Information PVC-TI 1

Application Examples

VISCOBYK viscosity depressants provide

high efficiency independent of the shear
rate. In addition they offer good storage
stability. It is possible to increase the filler
loading at a constant viscosity (figure 11).

Higher Filler Load at Constant Viscosity

Basic formulation:

filler content in phr

100 pts PVC 150
75 pts plasticizer Shear rate = 800 s-1
75 pts filler
1 pt stabilizer 125

100

75
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
phr VISCOBYK

figure 11

The use of VISCOBYK viscosity

depressants results in improved price
performance, drier surface and reduced
surface resistance (figure 12).

Reduction of Surface Resistance

Basic formulation:
Reduction in %

100 pts PVC 100

75 pts plasticizer
75 pts filler
1 pt stabilizer 90

80

70
75 100 125 150
phr Filler

figure 12

6
 Technical Information PVC-TI 1

VISCOBYK viscosity depressants enable

reduction of the plasticizer content at
constant viscosity (figure 13).

The reduction of plasticizer using

VISCOBYK viscosity depressants can
improve stain and scuff resistance.

Lower Plasticizer Content at Constant Viscosity

Basic formulation:
plasticizer content in phr

65 100 pts PVC

60 pts plasticizer
1 pt stabilizer
55
Shear rate = 800 s-1

45

35
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
phr VISCOBYK

figure 13

VISCOBYK viscosity depressants provide

increased product stiffness, a drier surface
and greater flexural strength (figure 14).

Increase in Flexural Strength

Basic formulation:
Increase in %

60 100 pts PVC

60 pts plasticizer
1 pt stabilizer
40

20

0
60 55 50 45 40
phr plasticizer

figure 14

7
Technical Information PVC-TI 1

Products and Applications

BYK Additives BYK Instruments
Additives are used during the Application Areas BYK offers a complete line of
production of coatings, printing inks • Ambient curing resins (FRP) testing instruments to meet your
and plastics to optimize the production • Architectural coatings needs in many application areas:
process and to improve the quality • Automotive OEM • Gloss/Appearance
of the final product. • Automotive refinishes • Color
• Can coatings
Product Range Additives • Coil coatings Portable or stationary laboratory
• Additives to improve surface slip, • Color masterbatches equipment – including easy to use
leveling and substrate wetting • Industrial coatings quality control software.
• Adhesion promoters • Leather coatings
• Defoamers and air release agents • Marine paints BYK instruments – the complete
• Foam stabilizers • Molding compounds solution for the coatings and
• Processing additives • Paper coatings plastics industry.
• Rheological additives • Pigment concentrates
• UV-absorbers • Polyurethane foams
• Viscosity depressants • Powder coatings
• Waxes • Printing inks
• Wetting and dispersing additives • Protective coatings
for pigments and extenders • PVC plastisols
• Thermoplastics
• Wood and furniture coatings

BYK-Gardner GmbH
P.O. Box 970
82534 Geretsried
BYK-Chemie GmbH Lausitzer Strasse 8
P.O. Box 10 02 45 82538 Geretsried
46462 Wesel Germany
Germany Tel +49 8171 3493-0
Tel +49 281 670-0 +49 800 427-3637
Fax +49 281 65735 Fax +49 8171 3493-140

info@byk.com info.byk.gardner@altana.com
www.byk.com/additives www.byk.com/instruments

ANTI-TERRA®, BYK®, BYK®-DYNWET®, BYK®-SILCLEAN®, BYKANOL®, BYKETOL®, BYKOPLAST®, BYKUMEN®, DISPERBYK®,

DISPERPLAST®, LACTIMON®, NANOBYK®, SILBYK®, and VISCOBYK® are registered trademarks of BYK-Chemie.
AQUACER®, AQUAFLOUR®, AQUAMAT®, CERACOL®, CERAFAK®, CERAFLOUR®, CERAMAT®, CERATIX®, and MINERPOL®
are registered trademarks of BYK-Cera.

This information is given to the best of our knowledge. Because of the multitude of formulations, production,
and application conditions, all the above-mentioned statements have to be adjusted to the circumstances of the processor.
No liabilities, including those for patent rights, can be derived from this fact for individual cases.
This brochure replaces all previous issues – printed in Germany.
01/2009