Characteristic properties of industrial plasticizers

The main characteristic properties of asbestos fibers that can be exploited in industrial appHcations (8) are their thermal, electrical, and sound insulation nonflammabiUty matrix reinforcement (cement, plastic, and resins) adsorption capacity (filtration, Hquid sterilization) wear and friction properties (friction materials) and chemical inertia (except in acids). These properties have led to several main classes of industrial products or appHcations... 

A competitive market exists within the plastic pipe industry because the characteristics and properties of different plastic materials often overlap in piping applications. 

Corrosion Resistant Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP). Fiber glass reinforcement bonded with furfuryl alcohol thermosetting resias provides plastics with unique properties. Excellent resistance to corrosion and heat distortion coupled with low flame spread and low smoke emission are characteristics that make them valuable as laminating resins with fiber glass (75,76). Another valuable property of furan FRP is its strength at elevated temperature. Hand-layup, spray-up, and filament-win ding techniques are employed to produce an array of corrosion-resistant equipment, pipes, tanks, vats, ducts, scmbbers, stacks, and reaction vessels for industrial appHcations throughout the world. 

Since most polymers, including elastomers, are immiscible with each other, their blends undergo phase separation with poor adhesion between the matrix and dispersed phase. The properties of such blends are often poorer than the individual components. At the same time, it is often desired to combine the process and performance characteristics of two or more polymers, to develop industrially useful products. This is accomplished by compatibilizing the blend, either by adding a third component, called compatibilizer, or by chemically or mechanically enhancing the interaction of the two-component polymers. The ultimate objective is to develop a morphology that will allow smooth stress transfer from one phase to the other and allow the product to resist failure under multiple stresses. In case of elastomer blends, compatibilization is especially useful to aid uniform distribution of fillers, curatives, and plasticizers to obtain a morphologically and mechanically sound product. Compatibilization of elastomeric blends is accomplished in two ways, mechanically and chemically. 

Rheology is the study of flow and deformation of materials under the influence of external forces. It involves the viscosity characteristics of powders, liquids, and semisolids. Rheological studies are also important in the industrial manufacture and applications of plastic materials, lubricating materials, coatings, inks, adhesives, and food products. Flow properties of pharmaceutical disperse systems can be of particular importance, especially for topical products. Such systems often exhibit rather complex rheological properties, and pharmaceutical scientists have conducted fundamental investigations in this area [58-64],... 

Finally, oligomers in reactive processing to produce foamed plastics and elastomers for various industrial purposes. These materials have many of the valuable properties of conventional polymers, with the addition of low density and high heat, electrical, and sound insulation characteristics.23... 

The physical characteristics of the plastic input influence the carbonization process. In static conditions, the heating rate of small particles is higher than for large particles. In this case, difficulties could occur for the extrapolation from small-scale carbonization data to pilot- and industrial-scale units. The physical and chemical properties of the material are of great importance in order to be able to evaluate the heat transfer from the reactor inside the material. 

Asbestos has been used in a broad variety of industrial applications which draw upon its low cost and desirable properties such as heat and fire resistance, wear and friction characteristics, tensile strength, heat, electrical and sound insulation, adsorption capacity, and resistence to chemical and biological attack. At the peak of its demand, about 3,000 applications or types of products were listed for asbestos. In most of its applications, asbestos is bonded with other materials such as Portland cement, plastics, and resins. In other applications, asbestos is used as a loose fibrous mixture or woven as a textile. 

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