Temperature dependence on the activation energy of dechlorination in thermal degradation of polyvinylchloride

The dechlorination of polyvinylchloride (PVC) powder initially progressed on an apparent zero order reaction, and proceeded in higher dechlorination range by an apparent first order reaction. The apparent activation energies indicate that the rate of the dehydrochlorination is controlled by the chemical reaction at low temperature, but that from 300 to 400°C is controlled by heat transfer rate.