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=Overview of Plastic Production= | =Overview of Plastic Production= | ||
{{WP|Plastics}} are the basic building blocks of today's society. Over the last 60 years<ref name="two">Michel Vert, "Biopolymers and Artificial Biopolymers in Biomedical Applications, an Overview", Biomedical polymers: sustainable polymer science and technology, eds. Chiellini, Emo.Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York:2001. pp.63</ref>, the development of plastics has been developed and perfected to such a degree that almost anything can be made of plastic and it's many {{WP|composites}}. | {{WP|Plastics}} are the basic building blocks of today's society. Over the last 60 years<ref name="two">Michel Vert, "Biopolymers and Artificial Biopolymers in Biomedical Applications, an Overview", Biomedical polymers: sustainable polymer science and technology, eds. Chiellini, Emo.Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York:2001. pp.63</ref>, the development of plastics has been developed and perfected to such a degree that almost anything can be made of plastic and it's many {{WP|composites}}. For much of this time, the primary source of the plastic monomer chains, such as {{WP|ethylene}} and {{WP|propylene}}, has always been from the processing of crude oil and petroleum. This also has the effects of producing other organic compounds such as {{WP|benzene}} and {{WP|xylene}} which can then be used to produce off-shoots from the initial monomer chains, ie. side-groups or chains<ref name="three">"How is plastic made?" American Chemistry Council, Inc. 2007. Available: http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/doc.asp?CID=1571&DID=5974 </ref>. These basic building blocks are then chemically processed to join into long chains called polymers. This can be performed through various methods, and these are often required due to specific side-groups that have attached. However, often this process will involve a {{WP|dehydrating}} process where the hydrogen atoms (and possibly oxygen atoms) are removed from the ends of the monomer chains and combined to produce water as a byproduct. From this, numerous chemical processing techniques can be used to produce the particular lengths of chains, compositions of the plastics, and will in general determine the final form and properties of the products. | ||
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The process by which these | |||
=Bioplastic Production/Processing Methods Used today= | =Bioplastic Production/Processing Methods Used today= | ||
==PHA production: production of plastic directly within bacterial and plant cells== | ==PHA production: production of plastic directly within bacterial and plant cells== | ||
Revision as of 20:49, 4 December 2009
Introduction and Motivation
In light of the massive surge for environmental accountability in this day and age, one of the major sources of pollution is that of plastics. Since the 1950's it can be estimated that over 1 Billion tons of plastic have been placed into landfills, and current estimates state that it will take hundreds or thousands of years to completely degrade [1]. There has been a great response in people recycling much of their plastic waste, but if the plastic could simply be composted, or designed to degrade in a quick, environmentally friendly way much of the waste could be eliminated from the landfills, and the hassle of recycling would become moot. This page will therefore look at the production of biodegradable plastics, how widespread the implementation is and can be, and attempt to find ways to make the process more energy or materials efficient. As well,the actual process will be evaluated to see if it is actually better for the environment in the long run. Such breakthroughs will hopefully further drive the plastics industry to develop the processes needed to produce this plastic, and help the environment.
Overview of Plastic Production
W are the basic building blocks of today's society. Over the last 60 years[2], the development of plastics has been developed and perfected to such a degree that almost anything can be made of plastic and it's many W. For much of this time, the primary source of the plastic monomer chains, such as W and W, has always been from the processing of crude oil and petroleum. This also has the effects of producing other organic compounds such as W and W which can then be used to produce off-shoots from the initial monomer chains, ie. side-groups or chains[3]. These basic building blocks are then chemically processed to join into long chains called polymers. This can be performed through various methods, and these are often required due to specific side-groups that have attached. However, often this process will involve a W process where the hydrogen atoms (and possibly oxygen atoms) are removed from the ends of the monomer chains and combined to produce water as a byproduct. From this, numerous chemical processing techniques can be used to produce the particular lengths of chains, compositions of the plastics, and will in general determine the final form and properties of the products.
The process by which these
Bioplastic Production/Processing Methods Used today
PHA production: production of plastic directly within bacterial and plant cells
PLA production: Manipulation of sugars and starch into polylactides
Developements in Bioplastic processing
Energy,Cost and Waste comparison
References
- ↑ Alan Weisman, "The World Without Us," St. Martin's Press, NY, 2007.
- ↑ Michel Vert, "Biopolymers and Artificial Biopolymers in Biomedical Applications, an Overview", Biomedical polymers: sustainable polymer science and technology, eds. Chiellini, Emo.Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York:2001. pp.63
- ↑ "How is plastic made?" American Chemistry Council, Inc. 2007. Available: http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/doc.asp?CID=1571&DID=5974