Test For Freeze/Thaw Stability Of Polyvinyl Acetate Latex

Manufacturer: We intend to export our products (coatings and adhesives) based on Polyvinyl acetate emulsion to Europe and Middle East. Please suggest some simple test methods we could use to assess the Freeze/Thaw stability and high temperature stability of our products.
John Woon (Senior Latex Consultant): I suggest you try the following:

1) Freeze/Thaw Stability
Fill up a glass bottle (3/4 full) with your Polyvinyl acetate emulsion (or rather latex) and subject the bottle to 10 cycles of, say, 18 hours freezing at - 20ºC in a refrigerator followed by 6 hours thawing at 20 to 30ºC.

The latex would be considered unstable if there are changes in viscosity and signs of agglomeration.

2) High Temperature Stability
Subject the 3/4 filled glass bottle to 22 cycles of heating at 60ºC followed by 2 hours at room temperature.

The latex is considered to have failed the test if there is an increase in viscosity. For some latex, the viscosity might have permanently reduced viscosity on gentle stirring.


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