Plastic pollution is increasingly affecting the health of coasts and oceans. One well-known problem is plastic bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate, or PET.
Biochemistry
10 hours ago
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19
It is impossible to imagine modern agriculture without plastics. 12 million tons are used every year. But what about the consequences for the environment? An international team of authors led by Thilo Hofmann from the Division ...
Environment
10 hours ago
0
18
A research team from American University has spent the last three years collecting samples from several freshwater streams that feed into Washington, D.C.'s Anacostia River. They have been looking for microplastics.
Earth Sciences
5 hours ago
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1
With the production of plastic on the rise worldwide and creating ever more pollution, the UN environment chief warned that humanity cannot just recycle its way out of the mess, and she called for a total rethink about the ...
Environment
Sep 23, 2023
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32
Next to water, coffee is the most popular beverage on Earth and is the world's second most traded good, trailing only oil. It is estimated that humans drink more than 2 billion cups of coffee per day with over 60% of Americans ...
Materials Science
Sep 22, 2023
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34
Almost 80% of plastic in the waste stream ends up in landfills or accumulates in the environment. Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have developed a technology that converts a conventionally unrecyclable mixture of ...
Polymers
Sep 20, 2023
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8
Working with IIASA researchers, Ghana has adopted a citizen science approach to addressing the problem of plastic pollution in marine environments, becoming the first country to integrate this type of data on marine plastic ...
Environment
Sep 19, 2023
0
13
The transfer of plastic waste from land to oceans and its subsequent accumulation within the food chain poses a major threat to both the environment and human health. Consequently, the development of renewable, low-cost and ...
Polymers
Sep 18, 2023
0
5
Massachusetts will no longer buy single-use plastic products, the governor announced to start the week.
Environment
Sep 18, 2023
0
35
Researchers have genetically engineered a marine microorganism to break down plastic in salt water. Specifically, the modified organism can break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic used in everything from water ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 14, 2023
1
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A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs. Monomers of plastic are either natural or synthetic organic compounds.
The word plastic is derived from the Greek πλαστικός (plastikos) meaning capable of being shaped or molded, from πλαστός (plastos) meaning molded. It refers to their malleability, or plasticity during manufacture, that allows them to be cast, pressed, or extruded into a variety of shapes—such as films, fibers, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much more.
The common word plastic should not be confused with the technical adjective plastic, which is applied to any material which undergoes a permanent change of shape (plastic deformation) when strained beyond a certain point. Aluminum which is stamped or forged, for instance, exhibits plasticity in this sense, but is not plastic in the common sense; in contrast, in their finished forms, some plastics will break before deforming and therefore are not plastic in the technical sense.
There are two types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. Thermoplastics are the plastics that do not undergo chemical change in their composition when heated and can be moulded again and again; examples are polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Thermosets can melt and take shape once; after they have solidified, they stay solid.
The raw materials needed to make most plastics come from petroleum and natural gas.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
