Epoxidized vegetable oils (EVOs), especially epoxidized linseed oil (ELO), offer a combination of performance, cost, and sustainability advantages that make them attractive in modern polymer and coating formulations. Their most fundamental advantage is that they are bio‑based and renewable, derived from plant oils rather than petroleum. This supports carbon‑footprint reduction and helps manufacturers meet regulatory and brand requirements for greener products.
Functionally, EVOs provide a dual role as both plasticizers and stabilizers. In PVC, ELO not only improves flexibility and reduces brittleness through its long aliphatic chains, but its epoxy groups also capture hydrogen chloride released during thermal degradation. This significantly enhances heat and light stability, improves color retention, and slows down loss of mechanical properties. Compared with traditional phthalate plasticizers, EVOs typically show lower toxicity and better regulatory acceptance, helping products comply with RoHS, REACH, and phthalate‑free standards.
Among EVOs, epoxidized linseed oil stands out for its high content of unsaturated fatty acids, which leads to a relatively high epoxy value. This means more reactive sites per molecule, giving stronger HCl‑scavenging ability, better stabilization efficiency, and the possibility of chemical bonding in reactive systems such as epoxy, UV‑curable, or polyurethane formulations. As a result, ELO can improve migration resistance and long‑term performance compared with purely physical plasticizers.
From a practical standpoint, EVOs like ELO generally offer good compatibility with many PVC grades, inks, and coatings, and can reduce overall formulation cost when used together with other plasticizers. Their favorable balance of performance, safety, and sustainability makes them a strategic choice for manufacturers looking to upgrade from conventional, fossil‑based additives to more advanced, environmentally oriented solutions.