What is plastics

When you watch television, use a computer, ride in a bus, train, or plane, you
are using plastics. When you go to the doctor’s office or hospital or shop at
the grocery store, you again are relying on plastics. Plastics are derived from
materials found in nature, such as natural gas, oil, coal, minerals and plants.
The very first plastics were made by nature—did you know that rubber from a
rubber tree is actually a plastic? Interest in making plastics arose in the 1800s
to replace scarce materials such as ivory and tortoise shell. The first synthetic
plastics were derived from cellulose, a substance found in plants and trees.
Cellulose was heated with chemicals and resulted in a new material that was
extremely durable. The raw materials for today’s plastics come from many
places (some even use salt!), but most plastics can be made from the
hydrocarbons that are readily available in natural gas, oil and coal.
The chemistry of plastics can be complex, but the basics are straightforward.
Think back to your high school science lessons about atoms and molecules
(groups of atoms). Plastics are simply chains of like molecules linked together.
These chains are called polymers. This is why many plastics begin with “poly,”
such as polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene. Polymers often are
made of carbon and hydrogen and sometimes oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur,
chlorine, fluorine, phosphorous, or silicon. The term “plastics” encompasses
all these various polymers. Although there are many polymers, plastics in
general are lightweight with significant degrees of strength. Plastics can be
molded, extruded, cast and blown into seemingly limitless shapes and films or
foams or even drawn into fibers for textiles. Many types of coatings, sealants
and glues are actually plastics, too.
 Classification

Plastics Classification
Plastics are usually classified by their chemical structure of the polymer's
backbone and side chains. Plastics can also be classified by the chemical
process used in their synthesis, such as condensation, polyaddition, and
cross-linking.
Thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers
There are two types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers.
Thermoplastics are the plastics that do not undergo chemical change in their
composition when heated and can be molded again and again. Examples
include polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Common thermoplastics range from 20,000 to
500,000 amu, while thermosets are assumed to have infinite molecular
weight. These chains are made up of many repeating molecular units, known
as repeat units, derived from monomers; each polymer chain will have several
thousand repeating units. Thermosets can melt and take shape once; after
they have solidified, they stay solid. In the thermosetting process, a chemical
reaction occurs that is irreversible. The vulcanization of rubber is a
thermosetting process. Before heating with sulfur, the polyisoprene is a tacky,
slightly runny material, but after vulcanization the product is rigid and non-
tacky. Other classifications are based on qualities that are relevant for
manufacturing or product design. Examples of such classes are the
thermoplastic and thermoset, elastomer, structural, biodegradable, and
electrically conductive. Plastics can also be classified by various physical
properties, such as density, tensile strength, glass transition temperature, and
resistance to various chemical products.
Polyethylene
(abbreviated PE) or polythene (IUPAC
name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most common plastic. The
annual production is approximately 80 million metric tons. Its primary use is
within packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes, containers
including bottles, etc.). Many kinds of polyethylene are known, but they almost
always have the chemical formula (C2H4)nH2. Thus PE is usually a mixture
of similar organic compound that differ in terms of the value of n.
Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)
UHMWPE is polyethylene with a molecular weight numbering in the millions,
usually between 3.1 and 5.67 million. The high molecular weight makes it a
very tough material, but results in less efficient packing of the chains into the
crystal structure as evidenced by densities of less than high density
polyethylene (for example, 0.930–0.935 g/cm3). UHMWPE can be made
through any catalyst technology, although Ziegler catalysts are most common.
Because of its outstanding toughness and its cut, wear and excellent chemical
resistance, UHMWPE is used in a diverse range of applications. These
include can and bottle handling machine parts, moving parts on weaving
machines, bearings, gears, artificial joints, edge protection on ice rinks and
butchers' chopping boards. It competes with aramid in bulletproof vests, under
the tradenames Spectra and Dyneema, and is commonly used for the
construction of articular portions of implants used for hip and knee
replacements.
Copolymers
In addition to copolymerization with alpha-olefins, ethylene can also be
copolymerized with a wide range of other monomers and ionic composition
that creates ionized free radicals. Common examples include vinyl acetate
(the resulting product is ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, or EVA, widely
used in athletic-shoe sole foams) and a variety of acrylates. Applications of
acrylic copolymer include packaging and sporting goods, and superplasticizer,
used for cement production.
PET
Polyethylene terephthalate (aka PET, PETE or the obsolete PETP or PET-P)
is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in
synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming
applications; and engineering resins often in combination with glass fiber. It is
one of the most important raw materials used in man-made fibers.
Depending on its processing and thermal history, it may exist both as an
amorphous (transparent) and as a semi-crystalline (opaque and white)
material. Its monomer can be synthesized by the esterification reaction
between terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol with water as a byproduct, or
the transesterification reaction between ethylene glycol and dimethyl
terephthalate with methanol as a byproduct. Polymerization is through a
polycondensation reaction of the monomers (done immediately after
esterification/transesterification) with ethylene glycol as the byproduct (the
ethylene glycol is recycled in production).
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
Monomers in ABS polymerAcrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS, (chemical
formula (C8H8· C4H6·C3H3N)n) is a common thermoplastic used to make
light, rigid, molded products such as piping, musical instruments (most notably
recorders), golf club heads (used for its good shock absorbance), automotive
body parts, wheel covers, enclosures, protective head gear, vballs [reusable
paintballs], and toys including LEGO bricks[1]. In plumbing, ABS pipes are the
black pipes (PVC pipes are white) and also in Plastic Pressure Pipe Systems.
ABS plastic ground down to an average diameter of less than 1 micrometre is
used as the colorant in some tattoo inks. Tattoo inks that use ABS are
extremely vivid. This vividness is the most obvious indicator that the ink
contains ABS, as tattoo inks rarely list their ingredients. It is a copolymer
made by polymerizing styrene and acrylonitrile in the presence of
polybutadiene. The proportions can vary from 15 to 35% acrylonitrile, 5 to
30% butadiene and 40 to 60% styrene. The result is a long chain of
polybutadiene criss-crossed with shorter chains of poly(styrene-co-
acrylonitrile). The nitrile groups from neighbouring chains, being polar, attract
each other and bind the chains together, making ABS stronger than pure
polystyrene. The styrene gives the plastic a shiny, impervious surface. The
butadiene, a rubbery substance, provides resilience even at low
temperatures. ABS can be used between -25 and 60 °C. Production of 1 kg of
ABS requires the equivalent of about 2 kg of oil for raw materials and energy.
It can also be recycled.

PVC
Polyvinyl chloride, (IUPAC Polychloroethene) commonly abbreviated PVC, is
a widely used thermoplastic polymer. In terms of revenue generated, it is one
of the most valuable products of the chemical industry. Around the world, over
50% of PVC manufactured is used in construction. As a building material,
PVC is cheap, durable, and easy to assemble. In recent years, PVC has been
replacing traditional building materials such as wood, concrete and clay in
many areas. Polyvinyl chloride is used in a variety of applications. As a hard
plastic, it is used as vinyl siding, magnetic stripe cards, window profiles,
gramophone records (which is the source of the term vinyl records), pipe,
plumbing and conduit fixtures. The material is often used in Plastic Pressure
Pipe Systems for pipelines in the water and sewer industries because of its
inexpensive nature and flexibility. PVC pipe plumbing is typically white, as
opposed to ABS, which is commonly available in grey and black, as well as
white. It can be made softer and more flexible by the addition of plasticizers,
the most widely-used being phthalates. In this form, it is used in clothing and
upholstery, and to make flexible hoses and tubing, flooring, to roofing
membranes, and electrical cable insulation.

Components

The Basics of Plastic Manufacturing

The term “plastics” includes materials composed of various elements such as

carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, and sulfur. Plastics typically
have high molecular weight, meaning each molecule can have thousands of
atoms bound together. Naturally occurring materials, such as wood, horn and
rosin, are also composed of molecules of high molecular weight. The
manufactured or synthetic plastics are often designed to mimic the properties
of natural materials. Plastics, also called polymers, are produced by the
conversion of natural products or by the synthesis from primary chemicals
generally coming from oil, natural gas, or coal. Most plastics are based on the
carbon atom. Silicones, which are based on the silicon atom, are an
exception. The carbon atom can link to other atoms with up to four chemical
bonds. When all of the bonds are to other carbon atoms, diamonds or
graphite or carbon black soot may result. For plastics the carbon atoms are
also connected to the aforementioned hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine,
or sulfur. When the connections of atoms result in long chains, like pearls on a
string of pearls, the polymer is called a thermoplastic. Thermoplastics are
characterized by being meltable. The thermoplastics all have repeat units, the
smallest section of the chain that is identical. We call these repeat units unit
cells. The vast majority of plastics, about 92%, are thermoplastics. The groups
of atoms that are used to make unit cells are called monomers. For some
plastics, such as polyethylene, the repeat unit can be just one carbon atom
and two hydrogen atoms. For other plastics, such as nylons, the repeat unit
can involve 38 or more atoms. When we combine monomers, we generate
polymers or plastics. Raw materials form monomers that can be or are used
to form unit cells. Monomers are used form polymers or plastics. When the
connection of the carbon atoms forms two and three-dimensional networks
instead of one-dimension chains, the polymer will be a thermoset
plastic. Thermoset plastics are characterized by not being
meltable. Thermoset plastics, such as epoxy adhesives or unsaturated
polyester boat hulls and bathtubs or the phenolic adhesives used to make
plywood, are created by the user mixing two chemicals and immediately using
the mixture before the plastic “sets up” or cures. The formation of the repeat
units for thermoplastics usually begins with the formation of small carbon-
based molecules that can be combined to form monomers. The monomers, in
turn, are joined together by chemical polymerization mechanisms to form
polymers. The raw material formation may begin by separating the
hydrocarbon chemicals from natural gas, petroleum, or coal into pure streams
of chemicals. Some are then processed in a “cracking process.” Here, in the
presence of a catalyst, raw materials molecules are converted into monomers
such as ethylene (ethene) C2H4, propylene (propene) C3H6, and butene
C4H8 and others. All of these monomers contain double bonds between
carbon atoms such that the carbon atoms can subsequently react to form
polymers. Other raw material chemicals are isolated from petroleum, such as
benzene and xylenes. These chemicals are reacted with others to form the
monomers for polystyrene, nylons, and polyesters. The raw materials have
been changed into monomers and no longer contain the petroleum
fractions. Still other raw materials can be obtained from renewable resources,
such as cellulose from wood to make cellulose butyrate. For the
polymerization step to work efficiently, the monomers must be very pure. All
manufacturers purify raw materials and monomers, capturing unused raw
materials for reuse and byproducts for proper disposition. Monomers are then
chemically bonded into chains called polymers.There are two basic
mechanisms for polymerization: addition reactions and condensation
reactions. For addition reactions a special catalyst is added, frequently a
peroxide, that causes one monomer to link to the next and that to the next and
so on. Catalysts do not cause reactions to occur, but cause the reactions to
happen more rapidly. Addition polymerization, used for polyethylene and
polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride among others, creates no byproducts. The
reactions can be done in the gaseous phase dispersed in liquids. The second
polymerization mechanism, condensation polymerization, uses catalysts to
have all monomers react with any adjacent monomer. The reaction results in
two monomers forming dimers (two unit cells) plus a byproduct. Dimers can
combine to form tetramers (four unit cells) and so on. For condensation
polymerization the byproducts must be removed for the chemical reaction to
produce useful products. Some byproducts are water, which is treated and
disposed. Other byproducts are raw materials and recycled for reuse within
the process. The removal of byproducts is conducted so that valuable
recycled raw materials are not lost to the environment or exposed to
populations. Condensation reactions are typically done in a mass of molten
polymer. Polyesters and nylons are made by condensation polymerization.
Different combinations of monomers can yield plastic resins with different
properties and characteristics. When all monomers are the same, the polymer
is called a homopolymer. When more than one monomer is used, the polymer
is called a copolymer. Plastic milk jugs are an example of homopolymer
HDPE. Milk is satisfactorily packaged in the less expensive homopolymer
HDPE. Laundry detergent bottles are an example of copolymer HDPE. The
aggressive nature of the detergent makes a copolymer the right choice for
best service function. Each monomer yields a plastic resin with specific
properties and characteristics. Combinations of monomers produce
copolymers with further property variations. So, within each polymer type,
such as nylons, polyesters, polyethylenes, etc, manufacturers can custom
make plastics that have specific features. Polyethylenes can be made to be
rigid or flexible. Polyesters can be made to be low temperature melting
adhesives or high temperature resistant automobile parts. The resulting
thermoplastic polymers may be melted to form many different kinds of plastic
products with application in many major markets.The variability of the plastic
either within plastic family types or among family types permits a plastic to be
tailored to a specific design and performance requirements. This is why
certain plastics are best suited for some applications while others are best
suited for entirely different applications. No one plastic is best for all needs.

The Structure of Polymers

As we have discussed, polymers can be homopolymers or copolymers. If the

long chains show a continuous link of carbon-to-carbon atoms, the structure is
called homogeneous. The long chain is called the backbone. Polypropylene,
polybutylene, polystyrene and polymethylpentene are examples of polymers
with homogeneous carbon structure in the backbone. If the chains of carbon
atoms are intermittently interrupted by oxygen or nitrogen, the structure is
called heterogeneous. Polyesters, nylons, and polycarbonates are examples
of polymers with heterogeneous structure. Heterogeneous polymers as a
class tend to be less chemically durable than homogeneous polymers
although examples to the contrary are numerous. Different elements can be
attached to the carbon-to-carbon backbone. Polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) contains attached chlorine atoms. Teflon contains attached fluorine
atoms. How the links in thermoplastics are arranged can also change the
structure and properties of plastics. Some plastics are assembled from
monomers such that there is intentional randomness in the occurrence of
attached elements and chemical groups. Others have the attached groups
occur in very predictable order. Plastics will, if the structure allows, form
crystals. Some plastics easily and rapidly form crystals, such as HDPE—high
density polyethylene. HDPE can appear hazy from the crystals and exhibits
stiffness and strength. Other plastics are constructed such that they cannot fit
together to form crystals, such as low density polyethylene, LDPE. An
amorphous plastic typically is clear in appearance. By adjusting the spatial
arrangement of atoms on the backbone chains, the plastics manufacturer can
change the performance properties of the plastic. The chemical structure of
the backbone, the use of copolymers, and the chemical binding of different
elements and compounds to a backbone, and the use of crystallizability can
change the processing, aesthetic, and performance properties of plastics. The
plastics can also be altered by the inclusion of additives.

The Two Plastic Types, Based on Processing

A Thermoset is a polymer that solidifies or “sets” irreversibly when heated or

cured. Similar to the relationship between a raw and a cooked egg, a cooked
egg cannot revert back to its original form once heated, and a thermoset
polymer can’t be softened once “set”. Thermosets are valued for their
durability and strength and are used extensively in automobiles and
construction including applications such as adhesives, inks, and coatings. The
most common thermoset is the rubber truck and automobile tire.
A Thermoplastic is a polymer in which the molecules are held together by
weak secondary bonding forces that soften when exposed to heat and return
to its original condition when cooled back down to room temperature. When a
thermoplastic is softened by heat, it can then be shaped by extrusion,
molding, or pressing. Ice cubes are common household items which exemplify
the thermoplastic principle. Ice will melt when heated but readily solidifies
when cooled. Like a polymer, this process may be repeated numerous times.
Thermoplastics offer versatility and a wide range of applications. They are
commonly used in food packaging because they can be rapidly and
economically formed into any shape needed to fulfill the packaging function.
Examples include milk jugs and carbonated soft drink bottles.

Process

Plastics are derived from natural, organic materials such as cellulose, coal,
natural gas, salt and, of course, crude oil. Crude oil is a complex mixture of
thousands of compounds and needs to be processed before it can be used.
The production of plastics begins with the distillation of crude oil in an oil
refinery. This separates the heavy crude oil into groups of lighter components,
called fractions. Each fraction is a mixture of hydrocarbon chains (chemical
compounds made up of carbon and hydrogen), which differ in terms of the
size and structure of their molecules. One of these fractions, naphtha, is the
crucial compound for the production of plastics.

Two main processes are used to produce plastics - polymerisation and

polycondensation - and they both require specific catalysts. In a
polymerisation reactor, monomers such as ethylene and propylene are linked
together to form long polymer chains. Each polymer has its own properties,
structure and size depending on the various types of basic monomers used.

There are many different types of plastics, and they can be grouped into
two main polymer families:
 Thermoplastics (which soften on heating and then harden again on
cooling).
 Thermosets (which never soften once they have been moulded).

Machine

Plastic recycling is a well-established industry that globally processes and

resells several million tons of used plastic material each year. Rather than
operating merely out of environmental necessity, plastic material recovery
services can be both cost-efficient and productive, saving resources for a
range of different manufacturing applications. The recycling and reclamation
field also encompasses the industrial processes by which plastic materials are
separated into their base monomers and made available for further
polymerization at secondary and tertiary levels. While the plastic recycling
industry was originally focused on recovering manufacturing scraps and
byproducts left over from initial plastic fabrication, present-day recycling
services are capable of reclaiming heterogeneous post-consumer goods as
well. The methods employed by material recovery systems tend to vary
according to the type of plastic being processed, but there are some essential
practices common to most recycling services. Stages such as sorting,
cleaning, size reduction, separation, and pelletizing can be found in most
plastic recycling operations. Likewise, the machinery used to achieve these
processes generally falls into a handful of equipment categories.

Sorting and grouping plastic materials according to resin type is an important

first step in the recycling process because contamination can render a batch
of material un-reusable. The most frequently recycled resins, including
polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and
polyvinyl chloride (PVC), must be carefully separated from one another in
order to enable further processing. Contaminants within each type of plastic
must also be removed from the base resin to ensure stock purity.

• Sensors: These devices detect specific polymers within a mixed stream of

plastic materials. They can be equipped with x-ray or infrared sensing that
registers a polymer’s unique signature along the spectrum. Some sensors
also incorporate color detection technology that sorts material according to tint
and transparency.
• Ejectors: Mechanical or precision air ejection units physically group different
plastic materials according to resin types. Depending on their capacity,
ejectors can often handle very high rates of input.
• Computing Systems: Computer processing technology supplies the
algorithms that are used to identify and sort different materials. These
systems provide the controlling parameters for both sensor and ejector
operations.
• User Interfaces: An operator’s interface can provide machine controls and
diagnostic tools for technicians. In addition, interfaces can also offer
networking abilities to help integrate a sorting machine and make rapid
adjustments to its functions.

Size reduction machine

Plastic materials usually need to be cut into smaller sizes in order to allow
further processing and to provide easier packaging, transportation, and
distribution of recycled stock. This cutting presents certain challenges, as
many plastics are abrasive to metal blades and can have wide variation in
their hardness, weight, and thickness. Most standard size reduction is
performed by single or multi-shaft shredders, and granulators. Multi-shaft
shredders perform scissor-like cutting with a series of rotating blades that can
handle moderately dirty or contaminated material, but are somewhat
imprecise in the size of the cuts. Single shaft shredders perform more of a
tearing motion, and have slower motors that lengthen blade lifespan. They
can also handle dirty or abrasive material and usually have adjustable or
replaceable blades. Granulators are composed of a rotor attached to blades
that rotate within a chamber containing a grid floor. Their capacity for
processing plastic material depends on the speed of the rotor, angle of the
cutting blades, spacing of the grid, and the shape of the rotor. Granulators are
usually sturdy machines, capable of relatively rapid cutting rates, and the
presence of the grid allows for more precise control over the size of cuts.
Granulator blades typically need to be replaced regularly over the course of
operations.

Separating equipment
To reduce the potential for stock contamination most recycled plastic
undergoes separation treatments, which work to remove any attachments or
non-reusable materials that may be present in a batch of flakes. Most
separation processes can be categorized as “wet” or “dry” methods. Float
tanks are the most common wet method, separating material based on
density and whether it sinks or floats, while hydrocyclones use centrifugal
force to divide material according to weight. .Among dry methods, air
classification differentiates between types of plastic based on the ratio of flake
surface area to mass, meaning thicker materials are sifted away from thin
ones. Mechanical separators usually divide flakes according to size, and
sometimes shape. These machines can be designed with flat, circular, or
inclined configurations. Laser spectral analyzers are most advanced
machines that use spectroscopic detection to determine precise levels of
contamination in a given batch. Alternative devices can employ ultraviolet or
fluorescent light to separate plastic according to color or light absorption
levels. Melt separation machines move plastic flakes along a conveyor or hot
roller while heat is applied to separate material according to melting point.

BACTERIA THAT EATS PLASTICS

Bacteria

The natural world is rapidly becoming a giant pile of plastic waste. There are
literally six—six!—ungodly large garbage patches swelling in the ocean. Even
areas as far removed from us as the Arctic are not safe. We're slowly
suffocating a lot of natural ecologies with our trash. Fish, birds, and other
animals all unwittingly consume the five trillion tons of plastic (and counting)
strewn about the ocean, and doing so can kill them. Scientist are trying to
come up with novel solutions to remedy the plastic pollution crisis, and they're
thinking small—in a good way. In a new study to be published in
the Proceedings of of the National Academy of Sciences this week, a team of
international scientists illustrate how they created—by accident—a new
enzyme capable of breaking down plastic bottles. This providential
development could finally allow us to fully recycle plastic drink bottles for the
first time ever, putting a much-needed dent in plastic pollution increases.

The new study's origins are tied to the 2016 discovery of a bacterium in a
Japanese waste dump that had evolved to use PET (polyethylene
terephthalate), commonly used in the 1 million soft drink bottles sold every
minute around the world, as an energy source. The team of scientists
originally began running tests to see how the bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis,
managed to produce an enzyme capable of degrading PET. Those tests, it
turned out, inadvertantly made the enzyme, PETase, even better at degrading
PET. The resulting mutant PETase now takes just a few days to break down
PET, compared to the 450 years it takes for the stuff to degrade naturally.

The salient takeaway is to use PETase to break down bottles before they end
up in the environment. However, the enzyme could also augment plastics
recycling approaches themselves. “Current recycling strategies for PET
bottles mostly focus on mechanical recycling, so they chop the bottles up and
use them for applications that typically do not need the same materials
requirements as bottles,” says study co-author Gregg Beckham, a researcher
at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
“Engineered enzymes that break PET down to its building blocks would
enable the ability to do full bottle-to-bottle recycling,” which would hopefully
help decrease oil drilling demands for new plastic production.

This is not exactly a radical shift from the original, but it does augur the
potential to go further and turn the enzyme into something with real,
significant applications. Beckham and his team have already filed a patent
with the hopes of making the enzyme stable and active at temperatures above
158 degrees Fahrenheit, where PET becomes rubbery and breaks down 10 to
100 times faster.

The original Ideonella sakaiensis bacterium is far from the first living species
to possess plastic-eating proclivities. Waxworm caterpillars have been found
to break down plastic in a matter of hours, and mealworms possess gut
microbes that eat through polystyrene. Beckham thinks, given how ubiquitous
environmental pollution has become, "it is likely that microbes are evolving
faster and better strategies to break down man-made plastics. It seems that
nature is evolving solutions."