Biologically Degradable Plastics
In today’s consumerism driven world, plastics have been advancing as a basic necessity for different elements in our society, whether it be food packaging or automobile manufacturing. Plastics have enclosed our mindsets by providing a useful and efficient material for multipurpose use, but although of all these advantages, plastics lag behind with a major disadvantage of its raw material. In today’s world, plastics are manufactured from petrochemicals, which are extracted from fossil fuels or reservoirs of fuel. But these raw materials are one of the most common examples of non-renewable resources, signifying the lack of excess to sustain and manufacture plastics for lifetime. Therefore, the dependency of the human race on plastics cannot be changed because of the efficiency and usefulness, but the raw source of this can be changed to natural renewable sources that can last forever, or grown forever to manufacture plastics. Recycling plastics seem a modern and efficient way of decomposing plastics, but forms huge landfills and solid waste that cannot be dissolved or evaporated into today’s already polluted air.
Fuel and oil are the present known raw materials for manufacturing plastics. Oil is both used as long chains of polymers to manufacture
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But, natural degradable polymers require the presence of water with high temperatures to degrade, and plastics are rarely used up at 150 to 180 degree Celsius that the temperature resistant issue restricts their production. In addition to this, modern technological breakthroughs have found ways to increase the maximum temperature resistance of plastics, such as in the case of PLA plastics. The polymer is briefly exposed to gamma irradiation allowing for greater heat resistance. A similar process is currently used and approved by the Food and Drug Administration to extend the shelf life of
This source is titled "How is Plastic Recycled?" From Wisegeek that explains the steps of recycling process. Wisegeek is an online archive written by a team of researchers, writers, and editors dedicated to providing concise answers to questions. The staff have some kind of degree or proof of reliability. For example, Liza, one of the staff members, has a B. S. (Bachelor of Science) in commerce from the University of Virginia.
Due to the negative effects caused from plastic it will always play a role in our environment. One hundred different chemicals have been created after the 1950s to the current day. Something people do not realize is that throwing a plastic wrapper on the ground will end up in a birds stomach, burning plastic in a fire will end up in the air we breathe, and recycling plastic will end up back in our homes. The author states, “I don’t even shop anymore. Anything I need will just float
“Endangered wildlife like Hawaiian Monk Seals and Pacific Loggerhead Sea Turtles are among nearly 300 species that eat and get caught in plastic litter” (“Ocean Plastic Pollution”). If an animal gets caught in plastic, then it could suffocate them. “In 2008, two sperm whales were found stranded along the California coast with large amounts of fishing net scrapes, and other plastic debris in their stomachs” (“Ocean Plastic Pollution”). When an animal eats plastic, it causes their minds to believe that they are full but plastic does not give them the nutrients that they need and will cause them to starve. The last well known pollutant is oil.
Plastic : To keep or ban? In the ocean there is a new continent. It’s made up of trash the size of Europe. There is about 100 million tons of trash floating around in the ocean today, states “Are you eating plastic for dinner” a national geographic video.
For example, we drink from it, eat from it. People from all walks of life depend on plastic so much as it is a cheap and convenient product. However, people do not know where do the plastic finally throw away. With highly consumption of plastic, it raises up various questions as mentioned above. In this documentary, Angela Sun would like to lead us to find out the answers of these thesis.
Direct toxicity from plastics comes from lead, cadmium, and mercury. These toxins have also been found in many fish in the ocean, which is very dangerous for humans. Some carcinogenic toxic chemicals are also found in plastic which directly linked to cancers, birth defects, immune system problems, and childhood developmental issues. Other types of toxic plastics are BPA.
Rediet Legese iLab Week # 6 CRUDE OIL DISTILLATION Introduction: The aim of this week lab experiment is to experiment distill crude oil and to check how temperature determine the chemical properties of crude oil plus how the boiling point can also show physical properties. They are two major finding in this experiment. he first finding was the point at which the raw petroleum is heated to the point of boiling, at 275 0C, the gas and kerosene oil are refined, however the oil (lubricant ) stays as an unrefined feature oil.
Everyday people buy plastic things from the cafeteria, from plastic containers, lids on cups, and things as small as straws, and like 50% of plastic used it will be thrown away after one use. However, do you ever stop and think, what happens to the plastic? If you’re thinking that it just magically goes away you 're wrong. It will most likely end up in a landfill somewhere or in the ocean, and as you may think that your actions do not impact the world, think again. Everyone in the world has at least used one piece of plastic, adding to the problem of plastic pollution and helping certifying the terrifying statisticc that acooording to the 2018 Earth day video, “by 2050 there will more plastic in the ocean than fish”, which almost is impossible to think of.
The amount of plastic products that ended up in the ocean as of 2015 are quite high. How high you may ask yourself? No not 1 million but 9 million tons of plastic waste laid in the ocean as of 2015. Who could be responsible for most of this plastic in the ocean? Surprisingly its china, they are responsible for 2.4 million tons per year.
Bisphenol A, also known as BPA, is an industrial chemical which has been utilized for common plastics. BPA has been found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are used to produce containers that people store food and liquids in, such as water bottles. Epoxy resins are used to cover food cans, water supplies and etc. Research has shown that BPA is capable of leaking into foods and beverages that they are in.
The reason plastic is used in many products is because it can withstand up to tons of pressure per cm3, is cheap, is durable, and finally, there is no worry for discoloring. But these days, plastic is becoming a major problem the world has to deal with. Plastic is thrown into the ocean, and it is breaking down into very small pieces, and killing marine life, as they mistake those pieces to their prey. As a matter of fact, nearly all plastics are recyclable, but it 's the recycling companies ' machines that refuse to recycle that kind of plastic(eartheasy.com). I. Plastic, what have you done?
Imagine what happens if we keep on polluting our planet? What happens to our future generation? Since plastic takes years to biodegrade, if we keep polluting our environment with plastic, then our future generation will suffer from the environment around them. It also means that plastic and other trash will continue polluting the ocean, which can cause thousands of sea animals to go extinct, providing us with less source of food. Not only sea animals, but animals all over the world might extinct or become endangered because of pollution.
Sixty percent of seabirds have plastic in their gut, and researchers expect that more than ninety percent of seabirds have eaten plastic before (“Seabirds”). Plastic microbeads are also in human digestive systems and are causing a threat to waterways (“Microbeads found” and “Subcommittee acts”). Plastic pollution is injuring marine life such as turtles, birds, and whales. There are huge clusters of plastic in oceans, causing animals to eat the pollution and get caught in it (“Seabirds”). Plastic pollution is a problem and needs prevention, or oceans, marine life, and our lives will be in even more danger than they are now.
Obviously the development of producing plastic went to quick and people did not think of a unified and sustainable way of how to dispose the huge amount of plastic. Unfortunately many countries decided to dispose all the garbage into the ocean but also ship accidents are a reason why so much plastic accumulated in our ocean. Every year more than eight million tons of plastic waste leak into the ocean. A big issue nowadays is that most of the plastic which is produced in one year is used to make disposable items of packaging or other short lived products that are discarded within a year (Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society, 2009).
The former can be heated and shaped and are used in the modern world many times, containing everything from children's toys to toilet seats. Because they can be melted down and reshaped, thermoplastics are usually recycled. Thermoset plastics can only be heated and shaped once, after which the molecular changes mean they are “cured,” retaining their shape and strength even when they are subjected to intense heat and the pressure. Thermoset plastics plays a vital part in our modern world.