Source Analysis : A New Class Of Thermoset Plastics

In fact, many of the major plastics used today began when commissioned to be used for the war effort (Freinkel, 6). When plastic was first brought to The United States, the American people loved it. Not only can plastic imitate other materials, but it is also much more affordable. Overall, plastic is cheap. The leap in plastic produced from the ‘40s until now is extremely substantial. For instance, in 1940 plastic was hardly used, in 1960 a single American used close to 30 pounds of plastic per year, today each individual uses more than 300 pounds of plastic per year (Freinkel, 6). A major impact on the amount of plastic used is directly related to the way Americans, starting in the 1940s, were now able to mass produce plastic products. For instance, a single plastic comb making machine could reproduce ten combs in less than one minute (Freinkel, 22). Overall, plastic is relatively inexpensive and it is made for mass manufacture. Considering this it is east to see why plastic became so popular in the first place, it was a plastic miracle. However, there is a direct relationship between the amount of plastic produced and the amount of plastics that are being polluted into the

We found that Polypropylene was our 5th unknown. Polypropylene (C3H6) or more commonly referred to as PP, is used for labeling, packaging, textiles, and stationery. In 1957, the crystallization of polymer was discovered. Soon fabric was made from the polymer, and was in high demand. It can also be used for moldings of cars, film, tape, foam and carpet. Polypropylene can not be glued to any objects or itself, and so it is melded. After Polyethylene, Polypropylene is the highest produced synthetic plastic. Polypropylene also holds up well over time, which is one of the reasons that it is the second most produced plastic. The melting point is between 130-171 degrees celsius. Because polypropylene is tough and flexible it can be used as an engineering plastic. Finally, polypropylene can be used be manufactured into a living hinge. A

Polystyrene can be a thermoplastic or a thermoset. As a thermoplastic it is used for disposable cutlery, CD and DVD cases, plastic models, smoke detector housings, packaging materials, insulation, and foam cups.

Post World War II plastic started to become a way of life. Early plastics were made from cellulose and also known as "green plastics" but most of today's plastics are made of hydrocarbon molecules that is used from the refining of oil and natural gas. Depending on how the plastic is made will decided wheter it's used for something like sandwich wrap or making some sort of plastic handle on a tool.

Plastics of the 20th century should consider the health of the environment. Over the past 153 years http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/11/14/fsummit.climate.plasticbags/ of producing plastics there is an evident impact of the environment. The Earth’s ocean has 5.25 trillion pieces, which is equivalent to 269,000 tons floating on the surface. Some of plastic is as small as 1cm2; this makes this every difficult to reverse the already existing impact of humans. This large scale disaster also affects the wildlife. 100,000 marine animals and 1 million birds have to suffer the consequence of plastic pollution every year. Globally a million single-use plastic bags are used every minute, this number is also increasing. http://oceancrusaders.org/plastic-crusades/plastic-statistics/

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

If you look around yourself you may notice that a great amount of the things around you are made up of plastic. You may also notice that all these plastic objects are different. For example, some are more durable while others are more delicate. There are many different types of plastics that exist; different plastics are used for different things. Polypropylene is a very common plastic, one that in some way, shape or form, we likely use everyday. According to a Britannica article, polypropylene is “a synthetic resin built up by the polymerization of propylene” (Britannica, 2016). What this really means is that polypropylene is a synthetic compound made up of propylene that goes through the process of polymerization, which is when monomers are

Polypropylene inherent properties of high firmness, great elasticity and inactivity toward acids, antacids and solvents has secured its position in an extensive variety of shopper and mechanical items (Kawasumi et al., 1997). The density of PP is between 0.895 and 0.92 g/cm³. Therefore, PP is the commodity plastic with the lowest density. With lower density, moldings parts with lower weight and more parts of a certain mass of plastic can be produced. Unlike polyethylene, crystalline and amorphous regions differ only slightly in their density. However, the density of polyethylene can significantly change with fillers (Tripathi, 2001). Polypropylene are likewise adaptable and can have high stretching before breaking. Polypropylene is also the

Plastic is a material composed of a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic compounds that are malleable and be molded into solid objects.

Plastic is very convenient but it is difficult for nature to degrade this man-made product. Since plastic was first manufactured in 1956, plastic has made people's lives more convenient. You can see plastic products everywhere. From the manufacture of satellites

Plastics are easily deformable and can’t be easily broken down into finer particles by any mechanical operations (except cutting) in contrast to the other

The consumption of plastic increase because there are many development project and population rising. Plastic material growth is the innovation of newer areas that have development such as increasing plastics applications in automobile, transportation, defense and aerospace, medical and healthcare,electronic devices, construction and furniture.(Tandel 2015).

The truth about plastic is that it’s going to outlive all of us. Plastic poisons us as we use it limitlessly. We poison the planet when we abuse of plastic. Plastic in the ocean hurts animals, affects humans, and keeps increasing. The issue with plastic is that it stays for a very long time. It is seen littered on the side of the roads, floating through the winds, and basically not always being recycled like it should be. “Plastic doesn’t degrade normally. It is not broken down by microorganisms like most materials rather it is disintegrated through photodegradation” (“Measuring biodegradability”) which means it is more difficult for plastic to dissolve and stop being plastic. A regular banana degrades easier than plastic. Although many plastic bags are not going away, they keep being produced. The amount of plastic only keep increasing.

People could get more benefits from plastic but every time people used it, they contribute in the destruction of the environment. Plastic material was made up of synthetic organic solids that are moldable. Due to plastic material relatively low cost, many manufacturers patronizing it because of expanding range of their products. Manufacturers displaced many materials that are used in the development of their products such as paper, wood, glass and water. Plastic was also used in packaging which is highly contributes in the development of the country. Even though people get benefits from plastic it has also many disadvantage. Plastic material is very harmful to health of humans and animals, it contributes in water pollution that can affect

There is a high chance that many people do not know the damage that plastic materials cause in the environment, for this reason many people use large amounts of plastic materials (such as, water bottles) and they do not know the correct way to dispose of. However, does recycling plastic materials helps the environment? To what extend? In the article Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments, Barnes, Galgani, Thomson, and Barlaz explore this issue by claiming, “In the last half-century, there have been many drastic changes on the surface of the planet,