The World of Plastics

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The World of Plastics

• Applied Tech. Ed. I
• Teacher Education
• Red River College

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Topics

• Introduction to Plastics
• Raw Materials to Plastics
• The Finished Products
• Special Applications

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Introduction to Plastics

• What products in your class are made out of
  plastic?
• The automobile could not be nearly as efficient
  with out the use of plastics.
• What are some of the different characteristics of
  the various plastics found in a car?

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Raw Materials to Plastics

• Celluloid was the first plastic to be made.
• 1860 Alexander Parkes produced celluloid and
  patented the product in 1865.
• In 1870 John Hyatt worked out the Parkes
  technical difficulties without any theoretical
  understanding.

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Raw Materials to Plastics cont

• In 1920 a German chemist Hermann Staudinger
  developed a theory dealing with the chemical
  nature of a whole group of substances, natural
  and synthetic. He called them macromolecules
  Today we call them polymers.
• In 1953 he received the Nobel Prize for his
  discovery.
• Staudinger provided the foundation for the world
  of plastics as we know it today.

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Raw Materials to Plastics cont

• Plastics were produced from natural raw
  materials. Protein from milk was used to make
  artificial horn.
• Using Rennin, the enzyme obtained from the
  stomach of a calf, the casein was precipitated,
  washed, dried and ground. It was then processed
  coloured and harden to form buttons.

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Plastics as a Concept

• Plastics in the broadest sense include organic
  materials which are based on Polymers which are
  produced by the conversion of natural products by
  synthesis from primary chemicals coming from oil,
  gas or coal.

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Plastic Materials

• Composite Materials
• Consist of a continuous matrix , often a resin
  surrounding a fibrous reinforcing structure.
• Typically glass, carbon, boron fibres in the form
  of continuous filament reinforce woven fabrics.
• Fishing rods
• Racquets
• Hockey stick shafts
• Canoes boats

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Polymeric Materials

• Polymers are classified according to their origin
  and method of synthesis.
• Natural Products
• Cellulose (wood, cotton) horn, rosins, raw rubber
• Vulcanized rubber, vulcanized fibre, celluloid
• Synthetic Polymers
• Thermoplastics moldable without undergoing
  significant change.
• Thermosetting plastics are rigid and the
  molecules are cross-linked in three dimensions.
• Elastomers have fewer linkages than thermosets
  and are rubbery.

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Identification Tests

• Transparency
• Density
• Thermal Behaviour
• Flammability
• Fracture type
• Solubility
• Heat conductivity

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Thermosetting Plastics
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Thermoplastics
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How can you implement the Coding System?

• Application
• The Plastics Coding System is designed to be easy
  to read at a glance and distinguishable from
  other marks put on rigid plastic containers by
  manufacturers for use in processing and
  identification.
• The system uses a triangular-shaped symbol
  composed of three arrows, with a number in the
  centre indicating the material from which the
  bottle is made, as follows

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Recycling?? Coding System
PETE
HDPE
V
LDPE
PP
PS
OTHER
1 Polyethylene Terephthalate 2 High
Density Polyethylene 3 Vinyl
4 Low Density Polyethylene 5
Polypropylene 6 Polystyrene
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OTHER - all other resins and multi-materials
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Recycling Links

• Virtual Recycling Link
• Plastic Recycling
• The Green Pages