Novel thermally stable poly(vinyl chloride) composites for sulfate removal

Barium carbonate and/or barium carbonate-loaded silica aero-gels dispersed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composites were prepared by dissolving PVC in tetrahydrofuran (THF), dispersing BaCO3 and/or BaCO3-loaded silica aero-gels, re-precipitating the PVC with water at room temperature. The PVC composites were then characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray mapping, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. The obtained composites had better thermal properties than the control PVC. The composites were tested for sulfate removal and found to significantly reduce sulfate when compared with control PVC.