Plastics today

In the early 1990s interest developed in the packaging material polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), a close cousin of PET. PEN has thermal stability 20°C higher than PET. Kodak had samples of the material sifting in its labs from the makers Teijin in Japan, as early as the beginning of the 1970s. Teijin is still the premier producer of PEN film and plastic today, and is involved with DuPont on the film manufacturing side. 

Because recycling plastic takes many forms, the plastic recycling industry is not as large as some other forms of recycling, but it is growing. There are six times more companies handling recycled plastics today than there were 20 years ago, and the market demand for recycled materials continues to grow.16... 

The goal of Chapter 2 is to draw the attention of the reader to the various problems and sources of interactions between the package and the packed product which can occur when using plastics. Today a huge variety of plastic materials are on the market. In order to select the most... 

It would be difficult to imagine the modern world without plastics. Today they are an integral part of everyone s life-style, with products varying from commonplace domestic to sophisticated scientific products.451 As a matter of fact, many of the technical wonders we take... 

To meet specific needs, other additives such as lubricants, extenders, fillers, impact modifiers, and pigments are added to the PVC compound, in addition to heat stabilizers and plasticizers. Today, it is estimated that more than 60% of all the adducts used in plastics are used in PVC compounds. Although the earliest PVC compounds were produced as emulsions, essentially all PVC compounds are produced today as suspensions. Suspension compounds contain essentially no emulsifiers and are more processable. Liquid plastisols typically have room-temperature viscosities of less than 10,000 cp. Products made from plastisols are usually very soft. They have Shore Durometers of 55A and less, to as low as 30A, and they can have characteristic skin- or leather-like appearance and feel. 

All the above is prolog to this publication. This new publication is divided into two major parts. Volume I deals with the many technology issues that impact the coloring of plastics today. Volume II will cover the major polymer families and deliver basic information on the coloring of those polymers. 

In most cases, before attempts are made to recycle plastic resins, the used parts must first go through a series of sorting processes. The purpose of these sorting processes is to separate the desired recycle plastic from possible contaminants in the incoming stream. These contaminants can take many forms. They include dirt, paper, glue, and metal as well as other recyclable plastics and even the same desired plastic but of a different color. The most postconsumer recycled plastic today is PET. This is the plastic from which all plastic soft drink beverage bottles are made. 

Polymers opened a new age in the produotion of rubbers and plastics. Today we use many hundreds of produots produoed by polymerization reaotions. Many sports have been improved with help of polymers and oonsequently these sports have become more popular than ever. For example, skiers and mountain climbers today have a great advantage over their counterparts of yesteryear. 

At one time the mother-of-pearl button industry was huge indeed it was so big that it almost wiped out entire populations of freshwater mussels in North America. The industry was in turn almost kUled off by the advent of plastics. Today some buttons are still produced in the Far East and are made mostly from trochus shell. A few more exotic - and expensive - examples from other shells are also manufactured. 

Kirkman A, Kline CH (1991) Recycling plastics today. Chemtech 10 606-614... 

Plasticizers today are used in commercially important amounts in about 35 different polymers with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) taking the largest share. Beyond the starting point in cellulosics, plasticizers have become highly important in poly(vinyl butyral), acrylic polymers (especially for surface coatings) and poly(vinyl acetate) (coatings and adhesives) and even in thermosets such as epoxies. Plasticizers are also used in crystalline polymers such as nylon, polypropylene, and poly(vinylidene chloride). Traditionally, extenders for rubber and synthetic elastomers were considered outside the field of plasticizers yet many such... 

The preponderant portion of plasticizers today is used in PVC. Consequently, PVC will be the reference polymer used in the balance of this text to illustrate theory, mechanics, and action of plasticizers and in relationship to practical applications. 

A variety of shaping processes is used to produce three-dimensional plastics today, many of which were developed before the 1940s in the USA and Germany (Brachert, 2002). Selection of appropriate processes depends on economic fectors, the number, weight and dimensions of finished parts, the suitability of a particular plastic s thermal properties to a process, and the complexity of finishing operations. Mass production processes are frequently used to shape olgects found in modem history, ethnographic, medical, sports history, furniture, military and children s collections. 

Reinforced plastics first became commercially available in the 1940s. Unsaturated polyester reinforced with fibrous glass is the most widely used reinforced plastic today. Chopped glass mats are used for sheet moulding compounds (SMC), bulk moulding compounds (BMC) and hand lay-up composites. 

Kirkman, Angela and Kline, Charles H., Chemtcch, October 1991, 606 "Recycling Plastics Today"... 

Rosato, D. V., Choosing the Blow Molding Machine to Meet Product Demands, Plastics Today, Mar. 1989. 

In the earher studies, chlorinated solvents (methylene chloride or carbon tetrachloride) and ethyl ether were used due to their excellent abilities to partition a large spectrum of plasticizers. Today, hexane or its 1 1 mixture with methanol are likely used for extraction. It is also important to increase the surface area of a sample and its contact with the solvent. This is best achieved by cryogenic grinding and sonication. With this technology of plasticizer extractiorr, 79.6 to 99.5% of plasticizers were recovered from blank matrix and 55 to 94% from spiked samples. 

Adding to the problem was the growth in the amount and types of waste. Today, consumers purchase food and other items in all kinds of special packaging not used in the distant past. The variety of product materials grew. Some waste did not bum, mst, or decay naturally. At one time there were few plastics. Today, plastic waste is common. 

For example. In terms of stiffness In pounds per square Inch, engineering plastics today are positioned between metals, such as magnesium, aluminum and carbon steel, and commodity plastics such as polyethylene and plasticized PVC. With advancing alloy and blend technology, plastics are approaching the stiffness properties of metals. 

Nylons were the first synthetic semi-crystalline plastics, the first synthetic fibres and the first engineering plastics. Today, polyamides are used for various different applications an overview of the most important ones is given in Figure 9.3. 

Choosing the Blow Molding Machines to Meet Product Demand. Plastics Today,... 

Mihalich, J. Silicone Polymer Boosts Flame, Flow, Mechanical Properties in Olefin Polymer Systems. Plastics Today, Aug. 19, 1989. 

Rowand, R. Rogers Corp. Acquires Rights to Polymotor Plastic Engine. Plastics Today, p. 2, Sept. 18, 1989. 

Carbon/Nylon Makes a Fast Wheel for Less. Plastics Today, p. 10, Oct. 6, 1989. 

Heat Resistant Resin Makes Hot Selling Utensils. Plastics Today, p. 17, June 24, 1989. 

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