Unit 30 Plastics

Suggested answers to in-text activities

Discussion (page 179)

1 • Polythene - shopping bag, washing-up bowl and squeeze bottle

• PVC - wall paper and floor tile

• Polystyrene - egg box and disposable cup

• Nylon - rope and stocks

• Polyester - table cloth and clothing

• Urea-methanal - electric switch

The teacher may ask students to suggest other plastic items found in homes.

2 a) The production cost is lower.

b) • Fuel can be saved as a car with plastic bumper is lighter.

• It is cheaper to replace a plastic bumper.

c) The pedestrian might be less seriously hurt as plastic bumper is not as strong as a
steel
one.

Discussion (page 182)

1 Thermoplastics

2 Thermosetting plastics

3 Thermosetting plastics

4 Thermoplastics

5 Thermoplastics
Check Your Understanding (page 186)

1 a)

b)

2 a) Fractional distillation

b) Cracking and fractional distillation

c)

Check Your Understanding (page 191)

1 Compound I

2 The monomers must contain carbon-carbon double bonds.

3 Compounds II and IV
 4 Each monomer must have two functional groups (or reactive sites) so it can add
on at each
end to another unit of the chain.

Internet Search and Presentation (page 195)

Environmental issues related to the use of plastics

Plastic waste disposal problems

Over the past 15 years, municipal wasteloads have increased by about 50% while the
population has increased by about 20%.

The following figure shows the disposal of municipal solid waste per day in Hong Kong
(1990 - 2002).

Ways of treating plastic waste

The three common ways of treating plastic waste are:

•landfilling;

•incineration;

•recycling (pyrolysis).

Refer to Teaching Notes under 30.8 for advantages and disadvantages of the methods.
Recycling

Cost of recycling

•cost of separating plastic waste from other waste;

•cost of transporting the waste to factories;

•cost of cleaning the plastic waste;

•cost of separating different plastic waste;

•cost of the recycling process;

•the cost of disposing waste from the recycling process.

How recycling is carried out

Direct recycling

The plastic objects in the waste are separated, cleaned, ground to powder and remoulded into
new plastic items. The regenerated plastics usually have deteriorated properties due to
repeated processing. This method applies only to thermoplastics.

Recycling of chemicals

If plastics are heated in the absence of air to about 700 。, the molecules break down to form
smaller molecules. The process is called pyrolysis. This process does not require the separation
of the various types of plastics.

Common plastics, such as polythene, polypropene and polystyrene, give hydrocarbons

(such as methane, ethene, propene and benzene) in the pyrolysis process. The hydrocarbons
can be separated out by fractional distillation. They are used as starting materials for making
other chemicals, including plastics.

Calorific values of plastics and various materials

Materials Calorific values (kJ kg-1)

Polystyrene 46 000
Polythene 46 000
 Heating oil 44 000
Fats 37 800
Leather 18 900
PVC 18 900
Paper 16 800
Wood 16 000

Pyrolysis products and their uses

Pyrolysis products Percentage abundance Used for manufacture of

Ethene 37% Polythene
Propene 19% Polypropene
Methane 12% Town gas
Butadiene 7% Rubber
Benzene 7% Various plastics, e.g. polystyrene
Miscellaneous 7% Chemical raw materials

Present situation in Hong Kong

In 2002, about 1.96 million tonnes of municipal solid waste was recovered in Hong Kong. Of
that total, 11% was recycled locally and 89% was exported to the Mainland and other countries
for recycling, with an export earning of more than HK$1.9 billion.
Discussion (page 196)

1 Answers may vary.

2 Recycling is a social and economic issue. Some of the advantages of collecting and
recycling plastics include:

• it protects the environment by reducing the amount of plastic waste;

• it conserves raw materials since many plastics are made from petroleum which is
non-renewable;

• it might save money when petroleum becomes more expensive.

Some problems that must be taken into account in the management of recycling
are:

• the discarded objects may be contaminated with toxic wastes, disease-causing

organisms, chemicals, decaying food remnants, or dirt;

• the waste is usually a mixture of different materials. Separating different materials

(including the separation of one type of plastic from another) can be very difficult, and
requires expensive technology;

• plastics lose their original properties over successive recycling cycles;

• the recycled material can be more expensive to produce than virgin material, when
transport, sorting and cleaning are taken into account. Many consumers would not be
prepared to pay more for an item made from recycled materials, even if they realize that
 it will benefit the community and the environment;

• the house-to-house collection of recyclables is expensive, contributes to air pollution

and
consumes a considerable amount of fuel (which is a raw material for making plastics);

• prices rise as resources become depleted, so demand drops and manufacturers

experiment with new materials and develop new processes and technologies; recycled
products have to compete with these new materials.

3 a) • Lack of understanding and participation of the public concern of waste

recycling

• High transportation cost due to the bulk volume of plastic bottle

b) The Hong Chi Shui Choi Centre organized the ‘Plastic Bottle Recycling Rally’
activity in
Tin Shui Estate. Residents were encouraged to send their plastic bottles to the centre.
With the help of the medium to serious mentally handicapped people, the bottles were
compressed and collected by collectors. A total weight of 50 kg plastic bottles were
recycled and it made a breakthrough in plastic bottle recycling in Tin Shui Estate.
During the activity, residents developed a good habit in recycling and it is especially
valuable for them to continue to send plastic bottles to the centre after the activity.

c) Answers may vary.

d) Answers may vary.

(Remarks: Details of the programme can be accessed from Jing Kung Website.)

Discussion (page 198)

Object New plastic Old Advantages(s) of using Disadvantage(s) of

material material plastic using plastic
Bucket Polythene Galvanized • Low weight • Easily damaged
steel • Quiet in use
• Corrosion resistant
• Cheap
Clothing Nylon Cotton, silk, • Cheap • May not feel as
good as a natural
wool, flax • May use less fuel in the
material
 manufacturing process (e.g. • Non-absorbent
fertilizer, pesticide and fuel for
tractors are used during the
cultivation of cotton. Indeed
they are products of petroleum)
• Hard-wearing
• Less frequent replacement
• Easier to look after
Packaging Polythene Paper • Allow self-service shopping to • May flavour some
foods
develop and reduce the staff
cost • Potential source of
• Hygienic rubbish
• Convenient
• Fewer trees are cut down
• More durable
• Higher tensile strength
• Waterproof
Disposable Polystyrene Paper • Fewer trees are cut down • More easily
scratched
cup • Less easily damaged
• Toxic chemicals are
released when the
temperature is high
Gear wheel Nylon Steel, iron • Corrosion resistant • Unable to
• Needs no lubricant withstand very
• Strong but light in weight high temperatures
• Can be moulded to different
shapes easily

Suggested answers to exercise

1 a) Thermoplastics are plastics that can be melted or softened by heat at

relatively low
temperatures.

b) Thermosetting plastics are plastics that do not melt or soften on heating.

c) Polymerization is the process of repeatedly joining together many small

molecules to
form very large molecules.
 2

3
Polymer Monomer(s) Repeating unit
Polythene

Polystyrene

Polyvinyl chloride

Perspex
Nylon

Terylene

4 • It protects the environment by reducing the amount of plastic waste.

• It conserves raw materials since many plastics are made from petroleum which
is
non-renewable.

• It might save money when petroleum becomes more expensive.

5 • Lighter than wood and metals

• Quite cheap and easily made

• Unreactive; do not corrode; many are not affected by acids or alkalis

• Do not conduct heat or electricity, so can be used as insulators

• Can be moulded into any shape easily Any five

• Can be made very strong

• Can be coloured easily

• Hard-wearing

• Waterproof

6 A

7 C Option B - An ashtray should be made of a thermosetting plastic.

 Option D- Perspex is strong and rigid. It is not suitable for making squeeze bottles.

8 A

9 B Nylon is a thermoplastic produced by condensation polymerization.

10 B

11 C Option A - Nylon is a thermoplastic while urea-methanal is a thermosetting

plastic.
Option D- Urea-methanal is mainly used in making electrical fittings. It is also used
in
making ashtrays and handles of frying pans.

12 B

13 A

14 D

15 A (1) Thermosetting plastics do not melt or soften on heating. They

are non-flammable.
(3) Urea-methanal is a thermosetting plastic. It is produced by
condensation
polymerization.

16 a) Plastic B is suitable because it is very flexible and cheap.

b) Plastic D is suitable because it is stiff, cheap and can be used at 100 。.

c) Plastic C is suitable because it is very stiff, cheap and does not burn.

d) Plastic A is suitable because it can withstand a very high temperature

and does not burn.

17 a) Addition polymerization

b)
 18 -
19 -
20 a)

b) Polymerization and moulding

c) •Transparent Any one

•Hard

d) Polystyrene is non-biodegradable. It cannot be decomposed by bacteria.

When the waste is buried in landfill sites, it remains there for a long time.

e) • It is difficult to separate plastics from other waste.

• It is difficult to separate different plastics.

Any two

• Many plastics lose their original properties over successive recycling

cycles.

• It is difficult to remove additives in plastics.

• The process is uneconomical.

21 -
22 -
23 a) Plastic handle of a frying pan; the handle should be able to withstand very high
temperatures.

b) Polythene

c) i) Condensation polymerization

ii)
 24 Addition polymerization and condensation polymerization both lead to the
formation of
plastics. Addition polymerization is a reaction in which monomers containing carbon double
bonds join repeatedly to form a polymer. No atoms are lost from the monomers during the
reaction.

Condensation polymerization is a reaction in which monomers join together to

form a
polymer. Small molecules, such as H2O, HCl or NH3, are always formed from atoms of the
monomers during the reaction. In such a reaction, each monomer must have two functional
groups (or relative sites) so it can add on at each end to another unit of the chain.
Condensation polymerization usually involves a reaction between two different monomers.