Optimization of a process capable of decreasing the pollution from PVC packaging material

This work is the study of a process capable of decreasing the migration of the plasticizer into a liquid food or a simulant from a plasticized PVC packaging. The treatment is a two-step process: (1) soaking in a liquid, and (2) drying at various temperatures. The efficiency of this method depends on many factors: nature of the liquid and immersion time, temperature and time of drying, etc. The influence of the most important of them had been quantified with a mathematical model previously described. The purpose of this study is to search for the best value of each parameter and, therefore, to optimize the reduction of mass transfers. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 3492–3450, 1999