Migration of dioctylphthalate and dioctyladipate plasticizers from polyvinylchloride films into olive oil

Abstract

The migration of dioctylphthalate (DOP) and dioctyladipate (DOA) plasticizers from food grade polyvinylchloride (PVC) films into commercial olive oil has been studied. Olive oil was chosen as a fat simulant. Experiments were carried out at 6, 22 and 30°C with and without agitation as a function of time (0–100 h). Two different PVC films were used containing 31·5% DOA and 29·5% DOP, respectively. Results showed a significantly higher amount of plasticizer migration into oil with agitation than without (30% versus 22·2% for DOP after 100 h). The equilibrium amount of DOA migrated was found to be higher than the respective amount of DOP whereas diffusion coefficients determined were slightly higher for DOP than DOA. These findings were related to solubility, compatibility and molecular weight of plasticizer. Data were fitted to the Arrhenius equation and activation energies for diffusion of plasticizers in PVC were calculated.