Tubes on tubes on tubes! To those with trypophobia, I would look away. For everyone else, lets talk about your favorite household pipe: polyvinyl chloride, also known as PVC!
These are the pipes that you see indoors and out in plumbing and has many benefits such as its light weight and its ability to be recycled. As this blog has shown, with each material, there is usually an adhesive that is best suited for its use, and PVC is no exception. Hence, there exists PVC cement and primer.
PVC must be understood as a material to better understand how this chemical works. PVC is a synthetic polymerized thermoplastic made up of monomers of vinyl chloride. The term thermoplastic means that it can become a liquid at its given melting point, and can be heated and bent with little to no structural compromise. This helps to explain why this material is so recyclable, but also why PVC cement is so specified and effective at sticking two pipes together.
I use “stick” and “cement” with purpose, as this material is technically not a glue. Instead, the PVC cement and primer break the chemical chains of vinyl chloride and fuse two pieces together. This is achieved through two steps. First, a primer is added that cleans the surface of any gloss finish or oils that would compromise the bond. It softens the PVC material for the connection and begins to chemically break down the polymerized chains. Next, the PVC cement is added, which is a solvent that contains free monomers and other chemicals found in the solid pipe. When the pieces are fitted together, the solvent evaporates and the suspended monomers re-polymerize onto the pieces and each other, making the connection as if it was chemically the same to begin with.
The uses of this material in conjunction with this specialized cement are endless. The main benefit is that in minutes of application, there is an airtight and reliably sealed connection. I have made us of this material for several projects, but my favorite of these was a potato cannon that ran off of air instead of hairspray. This air-cannon is a blast. I never have doubts that the material will fail as long as I stay within pressure ranges, and the cannon has easily held air over several years with no leaks.
As a material I find PVC and its cement fascinating to learn about. PVC is one of the few plastics I endorse fully as a sustainable and effective alternative to metal pipes, or people crazy with launching spuds.
Links:
The Early History of PVC Pipe – thePlumber.com
9 FAQs about glueing PVC | Plasticsheetsshop.co.uk
Does PVC Pipe Glue Work on All Plastics? | eHow
https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-pvc-plastic
https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/resource-center/different-types-adhesives-used-pvc-piping-applications/
It was very interesting to learn about PVC, as I have heard of it and know it has many uses, such as fencing, but I did not know how versatile and sustainable it is. Your description of the makeup of PVC and how it works to cement together was very detailed and also easy to understood!
I enjoyed the narrative of this post, which made it even more enjoyable to read. It was interesting to learn about PVC and all of its uses. I thought it was strictly used for pipes, but I was clearly wrong.
I had heard a bit about PVC before reading your post, but I did not know how sustainable it is, and it was interesting learning about its chemical properties that enable it to bind together well. I also didn’t know about its many uses, and I think that it offers a sustainable source of plastic that can be increasingly used for products beyond pipes, especially considering the recent global efforts to further promote sustainable resources.