PLASTIC AND POLYMER INDUSTRY

PLASTICS

Plastics are a group of materials that may be shaped when soft and then hardened to retain the
given shape.
Plastics are synthetic materials and are made up of polymers.
Came from the Greek word plastikos meaning capable of being molded
Originally meant pliable and easily shaped

Types of Plastic

1. Thermoplastics - Thermoplastics keep their plastic properties. They melt when heated, then
harden again when cooled.
2. Thermosets - Thermosets, on the other hand, are permanently "set" once they're initially formed
and can't be melted. If they're exposed to enough heat, they'll crack or become charred.

POLYMERS

The word polymer originally means of many parts"

The building blocks making plastics are small organic molecules
They generally come from oil (petroleum) or natural gas, but they can also come from other
organic materials such as wood fibers, corn, or banana peels.
Each of these small molecules is known as a monomer.
These monomers combine with other monomers to form very long molecule chains
called polymers during a chemical reaction called polymerization.

RAW MATERIALS AND THEIR SOURCES

Classification Description Examples

1. Hard Resin Hard, brittle, odorless, tasteless and Amber, copals, mastic and
exhibit glasslike fracture. They are sandarac
obtained either as fossil or as distillation
products of the oleoresins.
2. Rosin Most commercially important of all Resin from pines
resins.
Obtained from distillation of oleoresin
turpentine.
Used in sizing paper, soap making, as a
constituent of varnishes and paints, and
as a friction producing coating for the
bows of stringed instruments
3. Gum Resins Are mixtures of gums and resin Frankincense. Myrrh,
benzoin, and asafetida

1. Additives

The inclusion of additives may impart to plastics specific properties. Some polymers incorporate
additives during manufacture. Other polymers include additives during processing into their finished
parts. Additives are incorporated into polymers to alter and improve basic mechanical, physical or
chemical properties.
 Types of Additives:
1. Antimicrobials: Also called Bio stabilizers; help prevent deterioration f plastic
materials where part of the material might be susceptible to microbiological attack.
This are used for showering curtains and wall coverings.
2. Antioxidants: for plastic processing and outside application where weathering
resistance is needed.
3. Antistatic Agents: help prevent the buildup of astatic electric charge. Plastics are
generally insulating and so have the capacity to build up static charges on the
surface which greatly disturb processing procedures and can be an issue for
hygiene and aesthetics.
4. Biodegradable Plasticizers: used to make plastics softer and more flexible and to
enhance the degradability of the product.
5. Colorants: for colored plastic products
6. Blowing Agents: form gases in the plastic to produce a foam material by breaking
down on heating at a pre-determined temperature and form a foam structure within
the plastics polymer matrix
7. External Lubricants: to prevent damage to plastics or the mold during the
processing
8. Fillers/Extenders: natural substances used to improve strength and lower the cost
of the material. Usually mineral-based, fillers/extenders literally increase the overall
bulk of the plastic.
9. Flame Retardants: to prevent ignition or spread of flame in plastic material.
10. Heat Stabilizers: to prevent decomposition of the polymer during processing.
Without the addition of heat stabilizers, it would result in the plastic material literally
falling apart.
11. Impact Modifiers: enables plastic products to absorb shocks and resist impact
without cracking
12. Internal Lubricants: used to improve processability of plastics by increasing the
flowability. Internal lubricants improve the melt flow of material by lowering the
viscosity and heat dissipation. Lubricants such as stearate and other metallic soaps
are used particularly in cold-molding compounds to facilitate the molding operation.
13. Light Stabilizers: used to inhibit the reactions in plastics which cause undesirable
chemical degradation from exposure to UV light
14. Dyes and Pigments: tiny particles used to create a particular color
: the dyes used vary in resistance to sunlight and to the
Plastic binder
15. Plasticizers: organic chemicals that are added to synthetic plastics and resins to:
i. Improve workability during fabrication
ii. Extend or modify the natural properties of these resins
iii. Develop new improved properties not present in the original resins

: reduce the viscosity of the resins and make them easier to shape and form at
elevated temperatures and pressures

: imparts flexibility and other desirable properties to the finished product

16. Process Aids: e.g. Internal Lubricants; high-polymeric processing aids also
improve flowability of PVC compounds
17. Reinforcements: used to reinforce or improve tensile strength, flexural strength and
stiffness of the material. Often fiber-based.

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MANUFACTURING PROCESS

1. ACQUIRING THE RESINS

Resin group of sticky, liquid, organic substances that usually harden, upon exposure to air, into brittle,
amorphous solid substances
*natural resins secreted by many plants
- form protective coatings around wounds, preventing the entrance of pathogenic
microorganisms, and also excessive loss of sap from the wound
Resins derived from vegetable matter:
1. Cellulose from cotton
2. furfural from oat hulls
3. Oil from seeds
4. Starch derivatives
5. Coal
Casein from milk
Cuts are made in the tree bark. The globules of the liquid resin that flow from the cut are directed by
troughs into collecting buckets.

2. POLYMER SYNTHESIS

*monomers - groups of atoms that are used to make unit cells

* polyethylene - the repeat unit can be just one carbon atom and two hydrogen atoms

* nylons - the repeat unit can involve 38 or more atoms

Two basic mechanisms for polymerization (cure):

1. Addition reactions - a special catalyst is added, frequently a peroxide, that causes one monomer to
link to the next and that to the next and so on (sequentially)
2. Condensation polymerization - uses catalysts to have all monomers react with any adjacent
monomer through chemical reactions
Blowing or foaming agents used to generate inert gases on heating, causing the resins to assume a
cellular structure.

COMBINATIONS
Homopolymer - all monomers are the same
Copolymer - more than one monomer is used

STRUCTURES
Homogeneous If the long chains show a continuous link of carbon-to-carbon atoms
Heterogeneous - If the chains of carbon atoms are intermittently interrupted by oxygen or nitrogen
- Polypropylene, polybutylene, polystyrene and polymethylpentene
- Polyesters, nylons, and polycarbonates
* Polyvinyl chloride(PVC) contains attached chlorine atoms. Teflon contains attached fluorine atoms.

3. COMPOUNDING THE POLYMER

Compounding consists of preparing plastic formulations by mixing and/or blending polymers and
additives in a molten state (homogenous blend)
Slurry mixture of the liquid resin and the filler materials
Compounders co-kneaders, screws, internal mixers

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4. MOLDING OR SHAPING

Methods rely to a large extent on whether the polymer is:

*Thermoplastic melted from a solid and reshaped before cooling
common forming methods:
1. injection molding
2. blow molding
3. extrusion
*Thermosets not fully polymerized before forming
- formed into a desired shape and then made into a solid through a chemical reaction to create cross-
links in the polymer chains
common forming methods:
1. injection moldng
2. compression molding
3. transfer molding

5. COOLING AND FINISHING

After molding, the plastic material is cooled. Additional steps like labeling and design may follow.

Shaping or Molding Methods

1. EXTRUSION - the forcing of a plastic or molten material through a shaped die by means of
pressure

- The operations principle is the same as that of a meat mincer but with added heaters in
the wall of the extruder and cooling of the product

2. CALENDERING - This continuous process is an extension of film extrusion. The still warm
extrudate is chilled on polished, cold rolls to create sheet from 0.005 inches thick to 0.500
inches thick

- used for high output and the ability to deal with low melt strength

3. BLOW MOLDING in conjunction with extrusion or injection molding.

Steps:
1. The hot plastic extruded into the mold in pipe form.
2. While still hot, the plastic is trapped in the mold, a hot knife cuts it off at the top and it is
also pinched at the bottom.
3. The mold then moves to the right. An air hose is inserted into the top.
4. The plastic in the mold expands to fill the mold.
5. The mold then separates, which releases the plastic (bottle).

4. INJECTION MOLDING - This process can produce intricate three-dimensional parts of high quality
and great reproducibility. Injection molding is accomplished by forcing molten plastic
under pressure into a cavity formed between two matched metal mold halves. Once the
plastic cools, the molds are opened and the part is removed

5. EXPANDED BEAD BLOWING This process begins with a measured volume of beads of plastic
being placed into a mold. The beads contain a blowing agent or gas, usually pentane,
dissolved in the plastic. The closed mold is heated to soften the plastic and the gas

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 expands or blowing agent generates gas. The result is fused closed cell structure of
foamed plastic that conforms to a shape

6. ROTATIONAL MOLDING - consists of a mold mounted on a machine capable of rotating on two

axes simultaneously. Solid or liquid resin is placed within the mold and heat is applied.
Rotation distributes the plastic into a uniform coating on the inside of the mold then the
mold is cooled until the plastic part cools and hardens. This process is used to make
hollow configurations.

7. COMPRESSION MOLDING This process has a prepared volume of plastic placed into a mold
cavity and then a second mold or plug is applied to squeeze the plastic into the desired
shape

8. CASTING This process is the low pressure, often just pouring, addition of liquid resins to a mold.
Catalyzed thermoset plastics can be formed into intricate shapes by casting. Molten
polymethyl methacrylate thermoplastic can be cast into slabs to form windows for
commercial aquariums. Casting can make thick sheet, 0.500 inches to many inches thick.

9. THERMOFORMING Films of thermoplastic are heated to soften the film, and then the soft film is
pulled by vacuum or pushed by pressure to conform to a mold or pressed with a plug into
a mold. Parts are thermoformed either from cut pieces for thick sheet, over 0.100 inches,
or from rolls of thin sheet. The finished parts are cut from the sheet and the scrap sheet
material recycled for manufacture of new sheet.

PLASTIC AND POLYMER MANUFACTURING COMPANIES

International Local
1. Dow Chemical 1. NPC Alliance Corporation
2. Lyondell Basell 2. D & L Polymers & Colours Inc.
3. LG Chem 3. KIMIKA
4. SABIC (Saudi Arabia Basic Industries
Corporation)

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