POLYMER AND ENVIRONMENTKEJ4604

SEMESTER 6 (2016)GROUP 5

BY: NUR SYAFIQAH BINTI MAT RAPIE UK32609

HAASYIMAH BINTI AB RAHIMUK32809

DATE OF PRESENTATION: 3 MAY 2016

POLYMER MATERIAL WASTE MANAGEMENT

APPLICATION OF POLYMER:

POLYMERS IN PACKAGING POLYMERS IN AUTOMOBILE POLYMERS IN AGRICULTURES POLYMERS IN ENGINEERING

POLYMERS IN PACKAGING

Why polymers used in packaging?

Light in weight Flexible

Ease of transportation Least expensive than glasses

No risk of breakage

Widely used polymers in packaging

Polyethylene Polypropylene Polystyrene

Polyvinyl chloride Poly vinyledene chloride

What is polystyrene? 

Polystyrene is a type of plastic. used to make a variety of consumer products, such as appliances, CD cases,

computer housings, petri dishes, foam insulation and foodservice packaging. It is made by joining together (polymerizing) many styrene monomer units, and

it is used as both a solid and a foam material. Its largest use is packaging, including foam cushioning for shipping delicate

electronics and a wide variety of food and foodservice packaging, such as drinking cups, egg cartons, plates and bowls, take-out containers and cutlery.

Fig. 1Polymer global market.

Clara SilvestreClara Silvestre, Donatella DuraccioClara SilvestreClara Silvestre, Donatella Duraccio, Sossio C...

Food packaging based on polymer nanomaterials

Progress in Polymer Science, Volume 36, Issue 12, 2011, 1766 - 1782

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2011.02.003

POLYMERS IN AUTOMOBILE

Plastics and polymer composites Dominate vehicle interiors, exteriors, trim, and lighting.

Why use plastics and polymer composites?? Offer unparalleled weight savings.

Plastics and polymer composites continue to deliver significant weight savings to automakers. In addition to their current role as an excellent choice for lightweighting, aesthetics, aerodynamic design, and

value in many interior and exterior applications. Provide high energy absorption for improved strength and safety.

The high strength and energy absorption of structural polymer composites can also improve crash safety by strengthening vehicle compartments to help protect passengers during crashes.

Realize alternative powertrain vehicles. Alternative powertrain vehicles—such as electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, compressed natural gas, liquefied

petroleum gas, and flex-fuel vehicles that can operate on E85. help reduce the weight of powertrains, they can also withstand many of the alternative fuel environments that

metals cannot. Create value through parts consolidation.

Provide automakers with the ability to manufacture one complex part instead of joining multiple parts together.

This advantage results in faster processing times and the elimination of expensive joining and assembly tooling.

What is plastics and polymer composites

The term “plastics” refers to two-dimensional chains or three-dimensional networks of repeating chemical units formed into a material. Polymers occur in nature and can be manufactured to serve specific needs. The majority of manufactured plastics are thermoplastics, two-dimensional chains that, once formed, can be heated and reformed over and over again. The other group of plastics, called thermosets, is formed by creating three-dimensional networks that do not melt once formed. Both types of plastics are used in automotive applications today.

“Polymer composites”refers to material systems that combine a plastic resin (the raw material used in plastics and polymer composites) with a filler material to produce improved properties. Filler materials can be talc, short glass or carbon fibers, long glass or carbon fibers, or long continuous glass or carbon supports. Resins in such composites can be thermosets or thermoplastics. The term “composites” can also refer to plastic-metal hybrid structures, cored sandwich structures, and other arrangements that combine polymeric materials with other material classes.

POLYMER USED IN AUTOMOBILE

Polypropylene (PP) Trim panels handle

Thermoplastic Olefin (TPO) Impact absorber

Polycarbonate (PC) Door outer panel

Thermoplastic Elastomeric Olefin (TEO) Fog light cover

Elastomers Tire

POLYMERS IN AGRICULTURES

Type of polymers in agriculture

Gel-forming polymers Also known as insoluble water-absorbing polymers were first introduced for agricultural use in the early

1980’s. The polymers chains are rather cross-linked to form a three-

dimensional network. These cross-linking occurs when polymerization is carried out in

the presence of a small amount of a divinyl compound. Depending on synthetic conditions, type and density of covalent

bonds that form cross-links, these polymers can absorb up to 1000 times their weight in pure water and form gels.

Three main types of hydrogels (water absorbing) have so far been developed as agricultural polymers:

1. Starch-graft copolymers obtained by graft polymerisation of polyacrylonitrile onto starch followed by saponification of the acrylonitrile units.

2. Cross-linked polyacrylates.

3. Cross-linked polyacrylamides and cross-linked acrylamide-acrylate copolymers containing a major percentage of acrylamide units.

Benefits of hydrogels

Agricultural hydrogels can change the physical properties of soils by: Increasing their capacity to hold water Reducing erosion and runoff Reduce frequency of irrigation Increase the efficiency of the water being used Increase soil permeability and infiltration Reduce the tendency of the soil to get compacted Help plant performance

POLYMERS IN ENGINEERING

Polyesters

Advantages Good Chemical Resistance Easy to use Good strength Good ductility Inexpensive

Disadvantages and Limitations Some have marginal bond quality More expansion and shrinkage than concrete

Applications of Polyester Floor coatings Protective coatings Adhesive bonder or sealer Binder for fiberglass or artificial wood Sealer for Epoxy injection Anchoring for drilled holes Binder for polymer mortar

Epoxy (thermosetting)

Physical Properties Strength and Moduli vary with temperature and formulation Thermal coefficient greater than concrete Brittle behavior (more brittle than concrete) Excellent adhesion - tenacious bond High tensile and compressive strength Highly resistant to chemical attack and wear

Disadvantages and limitations Epoxy (thermosetting)

Properties are very sensitive to mixing and proportioning procedures Some cannot be used in moist environments Strong Allergenic, safety Some have strong oder prior to polymerization Physical properties are substantially different from other materials

Applications Epoxy (thermosetting)

Adhesive (old concrete to new concrete, welding cracked concrete, bonding diverse materials)

Patching voids Durable overlays and coatings

REFERENCES

American Chemistry Council, Inc. (2015-2016). Retrieved from https://plasticfoodservicefacts.com/main/Safety/default.aspx

Babul, N. K. (n.d.). slideshare. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/NkBabul/auto-28871535

brighthubengineering. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://brighthubengineering.com/ Jhurry, D. (n.d.). AGRICULTURAL POLYMERS. AMAS 1997. Food and Agricultural

Research Council, Réduit, Mauritius. Plastics and Polymer Composites. (2014). Washington, DC: Copyright © American Chemistry

Council 2014. slideshare. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/HetalHinglajia/application-of-

polymers-in-packaging-and-medical-prosthetics Vivek Srivastava, D. R. (2013). Advances in Automotive Polymer Applications. International

Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology.

WASTE OF POLYMER

Problem from Waste Polymer

Most polymers, including poly(ethene) and poly(propene) are not biodegradable. This means that micro-organisms cannot break them down, so they may last for many years in rubbish dumps.

They are filling the landfills and the environment.

LEGISLATION

1980’s Environmentalist pressure industry to recycle their waste 1991 Waste Framework by European Union 31 December 1994 EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste set

targets for member of states as shown below ;a) By June 2001, between 50% and 65% by weight of packaging waste will be

recovered.b) Within the general targets , and with the same time limit, between 25%

and 45% by weight of packaging materials in packaging waste will be recycled with minimum of 15% weight for each materials

The National Strategic Plan for Solid Waste Management (Strategic Plan) 2007 prioritizes reduction, reuse,

recovery and recycling of waste as well as greater use of environment friendly materials (Malaysia, 2006).

MECHANICAL RECYCLINGPoly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) – 1. ´High Quality Recyling´ yielding recyclates which can be re-used in the same

PVC applications (taking into account the general limitation of a 1:1 substitution of virgin PVC

2. ”Low-quality recycling” or ´downcycling´ yielding mixed materials of different types of PVC or different types of plastics.

PolystreneExpanded Polystyrene Scrap (EPS) – Chopped into building materials – Filler for structures (park benches, lamp posts) – Remolded & using in casting industry (25% of recycled foam) PS sheet and molded components – Chop filler for non PS materials – Reground into PS materials (if near virgin)

Polypropylene (PP) The process involves five steps namely collection, shorting, cleaning, reprocessing

by melting, and producing new products from recycled PP. So, the first three steps are the same as recycling most other products. But the

last two are critical. In the reprocessing phase, collected PP products are fed into an extruder where it is melted at 4640F (2400C) and cut into little granules. These granules are then ready for use in production of new products. Use of latest technologies made it easier for companies to melt PP and produce products from PP.

Polyethelene (PE) (HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE) Recycling of polyethylene is fairly easy to carry out. Because of its composition,

the waste plastic can be melted to a liquid form and reshaped or extruded as it solidifies, making it reusable.

Recycling polyethylene can therefore lead to the creation of new, durable products that are also cost effective and environmentally friendly.  

HDPE is accepted at most recycling centres in the world, as it is one of the easiest plastic polymers to recycle. Most recycling companies will collect HDPE products and take these to large facilities to be processed.

First, the plastic is sorted and cleaned, to remove any unwanted debris. The plastic then needs to homogenised, so that only HDPE will be processed. If there are other plastic polymers in the batch, this can ruin the recycled end-product.

HDPE is then shredded and melted down to further refine the polymer. The plastic is then cooled into pellets which can be used in manufacturing.

PE,PP,PET Recyling Machine

REPROCESSING OF MIXED PLASTICS

ACCEPT ANY MIXTURES OF ANY PLASTICS AND A SMALL PRPORTION OF NON_PLASTICS MATERIALS (eg. Paper)(Different Techniques Reprocessing of Mixed Plastics )1. Reclamat Process2. Reverzer Process3. Remaker Process4. Flita Process5. Klobie Process

ENERGY RECOVERY FROM INCINERATION

INCINERATION PROCESS Waste is fed into combustion chamber Waste is incinerated Gases rise into a furnace section Heat from furnace is transferred to water pipes Heated water is sent through steam producing system ADVANTAGES Waste Reduction

plastics completely discarded Resource Conservation

Energy produced used for energy needs

LIQUID FUEL AND FEEDSTOCK RECOVERY

Converting mixed-waste-plastics to high-octane syncrude Converts low value, hard to recycle and contaminated plastics

into a high value, synthetic crude oil. The first plant is operating in the Portland, Oregon area with the

second in the final permitting process.

REFERENCES

http://www.eria.org/publications/research_project_reports/images/pdf/y2008/no6-1/Chapter3.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/studies/pvc/mech_recylce.pdf

https://wmich.edu/mfe/mrc/greenmanufacturing/pdf/Polystyrene%20Recycling.pdf

http://pvcenterprise.com/recycling-plastic-waste/polyethylene-recycling.html