EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate)

EVA is a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate used in plastics processing. This page covers how its vinyl acetate (VA) content is measured and what a documented LDPE blend study shows about the trade-offs of adding EVA.

What is it?

EVA is a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. Its vinyl acetate content — the property that differentiates one EVA grade from another — is measured using ASTM D5594, a standardized Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) test method.

Why should I use it?

1. Its grade-defining property has a standardized test method — see “What is it?” above.
2. Blending it into LDPE measurably changes mechanical behavior — see Limitations.

How it’s used

In Plastics & Polymers, EVA (at a 28 wt.% vinyl acetate content, EVA-28) has been studied as a blend component with LDPE, at blend ratios ranging from 2.5% to 12.5%.

Limitations — when it isn’t the right choice

• Adding more EVA to an LDPE blend is a trade-off, not a straightforward improvement. A 2021 peer-reviewed study on LDPE blended with EVA-28 found that as EVA-28 content increased across the 2.5%–12.5% range, tensile strength and flexural strength decreased, and hardness decreased progressively. Elongation at break was highest at the 10% EVA-28 blend ratio, not at the highest EVA content tested. This is documented for one specific VA content (28%) and one blend partner (LDPE); it should not be assumed to hold for every EVA grade or every blend polymer.