Shane Harton
Technical Sales Representative
Chemical Analysis Division - Materials Characterization
Thermo Fisher Scientific
About 40 million tons of Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) are produced annually, half of which is used in manufacture of vinyl pipe. Other applications include medical tubing, wire and cable coatings, food packaging, and building and construction materials (e.g., vinyl siding). With the enormous number of products in use and ending their useful lifetimes globally, recycling vinyl is critical for sustainability – reducing waste and managing resources and energy. Due to variabilities in the initial virgin formulations, process histories, and contamination, recycled PVC has significant challenges that hinder low-cost manufacturing. Other challenges include regulatory or market-driven compliance for elimination of hazardous or banned substances, such as lead stabilizers and certain phthalate plasticizers. Melt process techniques such as torque rheometry (ASTM D2538), capillary rheometry (ASTM D5422), melt flow rate measurements (ASTM D3364), and gel inspection (ASTM D3596) have been used extensively for formulation development and quality control of virgin PVC, while chemical analysis techniques such as X-Ray fluorescence (XRF, ASTM F2617) and infrared (FTIR, ASTM E1252) spectroscopy have been used for analysis and quality control of various resins, including PVC. Here, we overview such methods for use in vinyl recycling.
Shane's Bio:
Shane Harton is currently a Technical Sales Representative for Thermo Fisher Scientific. He has a BS in chemical engineering from Penn State and a PhD in Materials Science from North Carolina State University. Shane has over 15 years’ experience leading process development teams for various applications, including membrane filtration and wire and cable, and he has 3 years’ experience in sales of products including torque rheometers and extruders.
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Evening Schedule:
5:00pm: Doors open; Check-In open
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