ENHANCING THE CHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF UPR

Recent research in medical field has reviled that phthalates are carcinogenic. The unsaturated polyester resins (UPRs) used in the manufacturing of products which come in contact with human foods or chewable (toys, buttons) should be phthalate free. In view of above we worked to develop phthalate free resins. We had to eliminate the sources of phthalates i.e. phthalic acid and its anhydrides also the solvents like Di butyl phthalate having phthalate molecules .This deteriorates the mechanical properties. To overcome this problem step by step reduction of phthalic anhydride was done through a series of recipes. The reaction time, temperature and raw materials were monitored to achieve the required branching of the molecular structure leading to improved mechanical properties of the product. The UPR developed through this experimentation was free of phthalates and exhibits tensile strength in the range of 34.79MPA or higher.