Advantages And Disadvantages Of Pva And Cellulose

Cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel produced from the waste of corn, and its potential for minimalizing pollution is huge. The first company to find the breakthrough, DSM, gained recognition, but was met with obstacles in the production of this biofuel in the form of rocks, which contaminated the corn waste and clogged the machinery. However, DSM soon overcame this obstacle and now produces truckloads of cellulosic ethanol every week. This environmentally friendly biofuel is everywhere, ranging from animal feed to solar panels. DSM is aimed towards “improving the planet and the lives of people on it”. Feike Sijbesma, the CEO of DSM, states that the company values “People. Planet. Profit” and is geared towards addressing malnutrition and climate

Both natural and synthetic polymers are a vital part of our daily lives. Natural polymers are found in rubber, skin, hair etc. Synthetic polymers are found in nylon, polyester, plastic, chewing gum etc. This lab is demonstrating the properties of the common synthetic polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). It is often used as a thickener or stabilizer cosmetics but also in paper cloths, films and cements.

Plastics have massive economic effects in a world practically covered by it. Plastics are polymers, chains of molecules polymerized together. There are two different categories, thermoset which solidifies irreversibly when the polymer is heated and thermoplastic which soften when exposed to heat (Halden, 2010). Plastic is a log lived material which can be used for many years yet the highest uses we have for the material are disposable, such as for packaging. Since 1975 Global plastic production has increased by 620% (Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2015). This increase is due to benefits such as cost efficiency, increase in shelf life and protection of products. But do these benefits outweigh the residual wastes effect

Through the mixing of compounds and the use of a boiling technique three different polymers were formed. Polystyrene was formed by additional polymerization. The other two were formed through condensation polymerization, the difference being that Bakelite had a cross-linked design occur in the polymerization process, whereas nylon 6, 6 did not.

Biodegradable plastic is plastic that is capable to decompose through the action of living organisms. It is originally from renewable resources and made from natural materials such as corn starch. Biodegradable plastic is also an alternative source of plastic. To produce it, ‘First, lactic acid is fed into a reactor and converted into a type of pre-plastic under high temperature and in a vacuum’, Professor Bert Sels explains(2015). These are only the some of the

This forum discussion will be focusing on Mycelium and how it may be used in the construction/building industry. Mycelium are large groups of hyphae, hyphae are the branching filaments or clusters of single cells in a fungus that grow in a web like structure and is the main vegetation part of the fungus. A hyphae is formed when a single female and male fungi fuse and the spore germinates. The fruity or flowering part of the fungus is a mushroom. Fungus is a decomposer and absorbs nutrients from the breakdown of the decomposed material by using its mycelium in a 2 stage process. The mycelium lives inside of decaying wood/logs, soil etc. The hyphae projects enzymes into the decaying wood which works to break down the larger molecular structures or polymers into smaller single molecule or monomers which the mycelium can easily absorb by facilitated diffusion and active transport. The mycelium continues to spread searching for water and food sources, when the food source, or a change in the environment changes like temperature drops or humidity rises, the mycelium will be triggered to produce another mushroom, and they cycle starts all over again with the mushroom producing more spores and releasing them with force in the surrounding area.

but the main molecule in wood is cellulose with the content of 40-50%. Cellulose molecules break down

Polyethylene is used numerous applications like plastic bag, water bottle and takeaway containers. This plastic eating bacteria can biodegrade the plastic at 0.13mg a day. It is estimated that it might take 100 to 400 years to degrade the polyethylene in landfills9. It is found that the enzymes in the worms can digest this chemical and it is safe the environment. Since plastic takes a long time to decompose, its carbon footprint involves the creating new landfills and incinerations. Both can be harmful to the environment8. This engineering solutions can be used to convert and biodegrade the plastic in a safe way.

Polymeric materials are consumed on the order of three million metric tons per year and account for the high standard of living in the developed world. For most applications, these materials must be plasticized. Traditionally, phthalate esters, owing both to cost and effectiveness, have been popular plasticizers. However, these materials may migrate from the host polymer, particularly for waste items discarded in a landfill, and enter the environment. They may bioaccumulate become part of the human diet and contribute to various negative health effects. As a consequence, new environmentally-benign plasticizers are being sought.

New aromatic polyesteramide was synthesized from 4-amino benzoic acid and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. These monomers were carried out by the direct polycondensation reaction with phosphorus oxychloride as a catalyst, pyridine as an activating agent in dimethylformamide solvent system. This method produces polyesteramide of different morphology with fairly high average molecular weight, glass transition temperature and degradation temperature. This polymer has unique characteristics due to different functional group such as ester, amide and aromatic groups present in the polymer matrix which further helps in enhancing thermal and mechanical properties. The obtained polymer was characterized by the different methods such as Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimeter, thermo gravimetric

Carboxyl- or amine-terminated copolymers of butadiene and acrylonitrile (CTBN and ATBN, respectively) are soluble in most liquid epoxies. The end groups react with the epoxy matrix during the curing process and the rubber separates to form discrete particles. Increasing the fracture resistance of epoxies with CBTN or ABTN rubber particles does have deficiencies. Incorporation of a low-Tg component often reduces the glass transition temperature of the composite material [12]. Similarly, incomplete separation of the rubber during cure may plasticize the epoxy network [14, 15]. Both the tensile modulus and yield strength of epoxies may be reduced upon rubber modification [16]. Sultan and McGarry [17] attributed the toughening effect mainly to the crazing of the epoxy matrix. Bascom et al.[12] accredited the high toughness values of CTBN modified epoxy to an increase in the plastic zone size. A rubber stretching and tearing mechanism was proposed by Kunz et al. [18] as the major toughening mechanism for rubber modified plastics (also known as

In the last decade, plastic pollution has affected the environment and the human health at a higher rate. A lot of situations experienced across the globe have attracted a lot of attention concerning the use of plastic in daily life. Plastic materials that we use every day in everything which is detrimental to the environment has perhaps turned to be the most dumped waste material because it does not decompose quickly. Based on the recent research plastic takes hundreds of years to foul up (Gregory, 2009). Pollution bags consist of the polymers large molecules with repeating units known as the monomers. These complex chains of polymers have changed the daily human life because its uses are randomly increasing every year.

For centuries wood has been utilised by many great civilisations. With its natural form, it is vulnerable to decay and degradation over time. Wood preservation has become more and more important over the years because of the efforts to grow timber more rapidly and convert it more economically have likely reduced the durability of the end product (Ridout, 2000).

good heat and sound insulation and damping properties [1]. Besides, the polymeric foams are also

To make our lives considerably easier, home appliances use circuit control, safety devices and resistance lead. Some of the devices are thermostat, transducer, Light Dependent Resistor [LDR], motor, etc. some of the materials used are Aluminum, Antimony, Barium,