Premium
Environmental aspects of photodegradable plastics
Author(s) -
Guillet James
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 1022-1360
DOI - 10.1002/masy.19971230121
Subject(s) - raw material , environmental pollution , waste management , biodegradation , coal , polypropylene , materials science , polyethylene , plastics industry , environmental science , pulp and paper industry , composite material , engineering , organic chemistry , chemistry , environmental protection
During the latter half of this century the production of synthetic plastics and fibers has grown so that the total volume of plastics produced world–wide now exceeds that of steel. This paper is concerned with theoretical and experimental studies relating to the environmental consequences of such a rapid shift from a technology based primarily on agriculture, forestry and metallurgy to one based on chemical raw materials such as oil, coal and natural gas. It is shown that plastics and synthetic fibers have the lowest energy costs of all comparable materials and cause less environmental pollution in their production and fabrication. They are easily recycled when not contaminated with other materials and can be manufactured in photo‐or biodegradable modifications tailored to highly litter–prone applications. The topics covered include sections on resource costs and renewal, environmental considerations, the technology and role of photodegradable plastics, and experimental studies of the biodegradation of conventional and photodegradable polyethylene, polypropylene and poly(ethylene terephthalate).