Trash and plastic swirl through the worlds oceans, leaving a. An example from the plastics industry would be the conversion of plastic pellets into films or the conversion of films into food containers. Plastics are used on a daily basis throughout the world. Bacteria and fungus produce a saliva like product that can dissolve the diol. Plasticseuropes market research and statistics group pemrg provided input on the production and the demand of plastic raw materials. This publication is made up of a series of articles published in plastics and rubber weekly as a piece work. Compostable, degradable and or biodegradable plastic find out here. Biobased plastics 2012 and the catalogue biobased packaging and. To make plastic from natural sources, the polymers are isolated from the raw material.
Compostable and oxodegradable plastics are two of the main types of plastics available in the market. The history and future of plastics what are plastics, and. Biodegradable plastics an overview sciencedirect topics. Trantina, design with plastics, materials selection and design, volume 20, asm handbook, asm international, 1997, pages 639 to 647 the key to any successful part development is the proper choice of material, process. The interrelationship between biodegradable plastics and biobased plastics is shown in figure 1. Hourston department of materials, loughborough university, uk this article is a revision of the third edition article 18. Plastics are light weighted, durable, corrosion resistant materials, strong, and inexpensive. Buckets, automobile parts, crates, tanks, pipes, bottles, carry bags, ropes, profiles. Ecological and human health impacts november 2011 contents executive summary 1 introduction 3 1. Many plastics contain phthalates dehp and the chemical bpa. Concerns relating to littering and trends in recycling of plastics are also described. Find information on the wide variety of plastics used in hundreds of household and consumer products. Manufacturers place an spi code, or number, on each plastic product, usually moulded into the.
The degradation of plastics is a physical or chemical change in polymers that occurs as a result of environmental factors, like light, heat, moisture, chemical conditions or biological activity. Design guides for plastics clive maier, econology ltd tangram technology. The first completely synthetic plastic was bakelite, made in 1907 by leo baekeland. Scientists have reported many adverse effects of the plastic in the environment and human health. Natural plastics have been successfully extruded, injection molded, blow molded, fiber spun, and thermoformed stevens 128. The word plastic comes from the greek word plastikos, which means it can be shaped or molded approximately a third of the plastic that is produced is used to make packaging. When using corn to produce plastic, the lactic acid is extracted from the corn. Thermoset plastics are materials that melt initially but on further heating become permanently hardened. Plastic lifespan why most plastic dont biodegrade compostable plastics that biodegrade within a certain amount of time. Biobased and biodegradable plastics facts and figures. To conclude, it is not the plastics to blame, but it is the misuse of plastics. Plastic is a word that originally meant pliable and easily shaped. Compound annual growth rate cagr from 1950 to 2015 is about 8.
Nowadays biodegradable plastics are considered as the environmental friendly. The present time need is to look for biodegradable measures and effective policies and their implementation. It provides the latest business information on production and demand, trade, recovery as well as employment and turnover in the plastics industry. One of the most common methods of processing plastics is extrusion using. In the last 30 years, plastics have become the most dominant engineering. Plastics strategic research and innovation agenda in a. Plastic pollution from the land gets carried into the sea and other water bodies plastics may be carried into the sea through rivers, streams, and storm drains ships may also be a source of pollution out at sea consequences. Biobased and biodegradable plastics facts and figures wur.
Chemically, thermoset plastics are crosslinked polymers. Biodegradable plastics are a new generation of polymers emerging on the australian market. Plastics are a wide variety of combinations of properties when viewed. Pdf degradation of various plastics in the environment. As a result, they hamper composting since they are not biodegradable and recycling since their breaking down harms. In this section the mixing, forming, finishing, and fibre reinforcing of plastics are described in turn. If food or drink is stored in these plastics, they can be contaminated with these chemicals.
Processing of plastics pdf is a wide range of processing methods which may be used for plastics. Plastic plastic the processing and fabrication of plastics. By definition, sustainable plastics are managed within a. These include polyethylene, pvc, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyester, nylon and. T 1 school of materials engineering, unive rsiti malaysia perlis, 0 kangar, perlis, malay sia. Another misconception concerning natural polymers is that they. Plastics uses, benefits, and chemical safety facts. In our understanding, however, bioplastics consist of either biodegradable plastics i.
Regulation of plastics waste, particularly manufacture and use of recycled plastics carry bags and containers is being regulated in the country as per recycled plastics manufacture and usage rules, 1999 and as amended in 2003. It will take a long time and heat, air and light will be needed. Oxodegradable plastics are plastics made to break down into smaller fragments, not visible to the eye, in the presence of oxygen and sunlight, thanks to the addition of tiny amounts of metals like cobalt, iron or manganese 2. Biodegradation, plastics, bacteria, breakdown, degradation introduction he use of plastics has transformed our life in. For example, a plastic called polyethylene, which is commonly used in grocery bags and packaging, is formed by adding together molecules of ethylene c2h4 fig. Degradation of various plastics in the environment cleavage of the chain to form hydroxyls, ca ge reaction between the pair o f the radicals formed, i. They cannot be softened and remolded without destruction of the polymer because covalent bonds are broken. In general, biobased and biodegradable plastics are more expensive than fossilbased plastics on a weight basis. Their structure is not naturally occurring, so plastics are not biodegradable. Finally, we give predictions for some of the potential applications of plastic over. Plastics that cannot be softened again by heating once they are molded. The seventh edition of this classic reference work once more provides a comprehensive overview of commercially available plastics materials. Typically, the polymers are synthesized using chemicals or by fermenting the sugars.
Considerations and criteria for sustainable plastics from a. Presence or damage due to plastics ha been reported for s mammals 6, turtles 7, and seabirds 4, among other species. Polystyrene is commonly recycled, but is difficult to do. Quick plastic facts list of plastics the most common types of plastics, what they are used for and links to technical data sheets. Carbon and hydrogen are the other dominant elements in plastics. For most of the biobased and biodegradable plastics there are several suppliers and most plastics are readily available. Ecological and human health impacts science for environment policy indepth reports plastic waste. Biodegradable plastics plastics that will fully decompose to carbon dioxide, methane, water, biomass and inorganic compounds under aerobic or anaerobic conditions and the action of living organisms. Code 7 is used to designate miscellaneous types of plastic not defined by the other six codes. If food is heated inside these containers in the microwave or if the plastic is ingested as in the case of a small child, these chemicals make their way into our food and into our bodies. Plastics can be produced by bonding together monomers in a reaction called polymerization. The adverse impact of synthetic plastics on the environment could be significantly reduced if many singleuse, nondurable goods were made from biodegradable plastics. The history and future of plastics what are plastics, and where do they come from.
The kind assistance of the author and prw is acknowledged in the publication of the work. In addition, most of the commodity plastics such as bottles, cups etc made out of petroleum are non compostable and non biodegradable. Commodity plastics are plastics produced in high volumes for applications where exceptional. Biodegradation of synthetic and natural plastic by.
The word plastic is a common term that is used for many materials of a synthetic or semisynthetic nature. Biodegradable plastics development and environmental. Plasticsthe facts is an analysis of the data related to the production, demand and waste management of plastic materials. Items such as disposable coffee cups, plastic food boxes, plastic cutlery and packing foam are made from ps. More than 80 % of this plastic is used once and then goes to landfill sites q. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, it enables scientists to understand the commercial implications of their work as well as providing technologists with a theoretical background. Linear polymers and a combination of linear and crosslinked polymers come under thermoplastics.
Typical reactions for chain assembling are polyaddition continuous or step wise and condensation polymerization polycondensation 1 figure 1. It only recently became a name for a category of materials called polymers. Greene, csu 7 medical plastics and composites use containers bottles, bags drug delivery iv bags, syringes tubing and tools for surgery implants, artificial skins the use of plastic materials in the medical field, about 4 billion dollars in 2000 us. World plastics production 1950 2015 plastics are a global success story. However, specific material properties can allow costs reductions in the use or endoflife phase. A summary of literature on the chemical toxicity of plastics. When plastics from land move to the sea, they bring along sediments that smother corals. Biodegradation, plastics, bacteria, breakdown, degradation introduction he use of plastics has transformed our life in many ways. Plastics that can be deformed easily upon heating and can be bent easily. This has now been replaced by plastic waste management and handling rules, 2011.
Applications and societal benefits of plastics ncbi. Plastics enable sustainable, durable, longlasting design and construction in homes, buildings, and infrastructure like bridges in automotive design, plastics have contributed to a multitude of innovations in safety, performance and fuel efficiency. Biodegradable plastics have an expanding range of potential applications, and driven by the growing use of plastics in packaging and the perception that biodegradable plastics are environmentally friendly, their use is predicted to increase. The term was derived from the greek plastikos, which means fit for molding. In fact, they can be manufactured using similar processes and the same machinery as petroleum based plastics. Different types of degradable have been proposed as an alternative to lesse the environmental impacts of n plastic waste. Plastic the processing and fabrication of plastics. Plastics are typically composed of artificial synthetic polymers. Plastics processing plastics can be machined, cast, formed, and joined with relative ease requiring little postprocessing or surfacefinish operations plastics melt or cure at relative low temperatures plastics require less energy to process than metals raw materials most commonly are pellets, powders. However, their popularity has also meant a rise in plastic waste, which brings its own economic, environmental and social issues.