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listing suppliers of plastics raw materials, Compounds, Engineering Plastics,
Specialty Compounds,ldpe,lldpe,hdpe,pp,polypropylene,pe,polyethylene,Thermoplastic
Elastomers, Specialty Concentrates,PET plastics, Polyolefin Compounds, Polypropylene
Compounds, Performance Polymers,PMMA,polymethylmethacrylate,POM,Acetal,PC,Polycarbonate,PA,
Polyamide,Nylon,ABS,Styrenics,SAN, EVA,Ethylene Vinylacetate Copolymer,PC,Thermoplastic
Elastomers,TPE,TPV,TEV
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride, (IUPAC Polychloroethene) commonly abbreviated PVC, is
a widely used thermoplastic polymer. In terms of revenue generated, it is
one of the most valuable products of the chemical industry. Around the world,
over 50% of PVC manufactured is used in construction. As a building material,
PVC is cheap, durable, and easy to assemble. In recent years, PVC has been
replacing traditional building materials such as wood, concrete and clay
in many areas.Polyvinyl
chloride is used in a variety of applications. As a hard plastic, it is
used as vinyl siding, magnetic stripe cards, window profiles, gramophone
records (which is the source of the term vinyl records), pipe, plumbing
and conduit fixtures. The material is often used in Plastic Pressure Pipe
Systems for pipelines in the water and sewer industries because of its inexpensive
nature and flexibility. PVC pipe plumbing is typically white, as opposed
to ABS, which is commonly available in grey and black, as well as white.It
can be made softer and more flexible by the addition of plasticizers, the
most widely-used being phthalates. In this form, it is used in clothing
and upholstery, and to make flexible hoses and tubing, flooring, to roofing
membranes, and electrical cable insulation.
PET
Polyethylene terephthalate (aka PET, PETE or the obsolete PETP or PET-P)
is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in
synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming
applications; and engineering resins often in combination with glass fiber.
It is one of the most important raw materials used in man-made fibers. Depending
on its processing and thermal history, it may exist both as an amorphous
(transparent) and as a semi-crystalline (opaque and white) material. Its
monomer can be synthesized by the esterification reaction between terephthalic
acid and ethylene glycol with water as a byproduct, or the transesterification
reaction between ethylene glycol and dimethyl terephthalate with methanol
as a byproduct. Polymerization is through a polycondensation reaction of
the monomers (done immediately after esterification/transesterification)
with ethylene glycol as the byproduct (the ethylene glycol is recycled in
production).The
majority of the world's PET production is for synthetic fibers (in excess
of 60%) with bottle production accounting for around 30% of global demand.
In discussing textile applications, PET is generally referred to as simply
"polyester" while "PET" is used most often to refer
to packaging applications.
PET Applications:
PET can be semi-rigid to rigid, depending on its thickness, and is very
lightweight. It makes a good gas and fair moisture barrier, as well as a
good barrier to alcohol (requires additional "Barrier" treatment)
and solvents. It is strong and impact-resistant. It is naturally colorless
and transparent.When
produced as a thin film (often known by the tradename Mylar), PET is often
coated with aluminium to reduce its permeability, and to make it reflective
and opaque. PET bottles are excellent barrier materials and are widely used
for soft drinks, (see carbonation). PET or Dacron is also used as a thermal
insulation layer on the outside of the International Space Station as seen
in an episode of Modern Marvels "Sub Zero". For certain specialty
bottles, PET sandwiches an additional polyvinyl alcohol to further reduce
its oxygen permeability.When
filled with glass particles or fibers, it becomes significantly stiffer
and more durable.
Sails are usually made of Dacron, a brand of PET fiber; colorful lightweight
spinnakers are usually made of nylon.While all thermoplastics are technically
recyclable, PET bottle recycling is more practical than many other plastic
applications. The primary reason is that plastic carbonated soft drink bottles
and water bottles are almost exclusively PET which makes them more easily
identifiable in a recycle stream. PET has a resin identification code of
1. PET, as with many plastics, is also an excellent candidate for thermal
recycling (incineration) as it is composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
with only trace amounts of catalyst elements (no sulfur) and has the energy
content of soft coal.PET
was patented in 1941 by the Calico Printers' Association of Manchester.
The PET bottle was patented in 1973. Copolymers
In addition to pure (homopolymer) PET, PET modified by copolymerization
is also available.In
some cases, the modified properties of copolymer are more desirable for
a particular application. For example, cyclohexane dimethanol (CHDM) can
be added to the polymer backbone in place of ethylene glycol. Since this
building block is much larger (6 additional carbon atoms) than the ethylene
glycol unit it replaces, it does not fit in with the neighboring chains
the way an ethylene glycol unit would. This interferes with crystallization
and lowers the polymer's melting temperature. Such PET is generally known
as PETG (EastmanChemical and SKchemicals are the only two manufacturers).
Replacing terephthalic acid (right) with isophthalic acid (center) creates
a kink in the PET chain, interfering with crystallization and lowering the
polymer's melting point.Another common modifier is isophthalic acid, replacing
some of the 1,4- (para-) linked terephthalate units. The 1,2- (ortho-) or
1,3- (meta-) linkage produces an angle in the chain, which also disturbs
crystallinity.Such
copolymers are advantageous for certain molding applications, such as thermoforming,
which is used to make tray or blister packages from PET sheet (sometimes
called APET, for "amorphous PET"). On the other hand, crystallization
is important in other applications where mechanical and dimensional stability
are important, such as seat belts. For PET bottles, the use of small amounts
of CHDM or other comonomers can be useful: if only small amounts of comonomers
are used, crystallization is slowed but not prevented entirely. As a result,
bottles are obtainable via stretch blow molding ("SBM"), which
are both clear and crystalline enough to be an adequate barrier to aromas
and even gasses, such as the carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages.
LDPE
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is a thermoplastic made from oil. It was
the first grade of polyethylene, produced in 1933 by Imperial Chemical Industries
(ICI) using a high pressure process via free radical polymerisation [1].
Its manufacture employs the same method today.
Applications:
LDPE is widely used for manufacturing various containers, dispensing bottles,
wash bottles, tubing, plastic bags for computer components, and various
molded laboratory equipment. Its most common use is in plastic bags.
Other products made from it include:
Trays & general purpose containers
Food storage and laboratory containers
Corrosion-resistant work surfaces
Parts that need to be weldable and machinable
Parts that require flexibility, for which it serves very well
Very soft and pliable parts
Six-pack soda can rings
Extrusion coating on paperboard and aluminum laminated for beverage cartons.
Computer components, such as hard drives, screen cards and disk-drives.
Acrylonitrile
butadiene styrene
Monomers in ABS polymerAcrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS, (chemical
formula (C8H8· C4H6·C3H3N)n) is a common thermoplastic used
to make light, rigid, molded products such as piping, musical instruments
(most notably recorders), golf club heads (used for its good shock absorbance),
automotive body parts, wheel covers, enclosures, protective head gear, vballs
[reusable paintballs], and toys including LEGO bricks[1]. In plumbing, ABS
pipes are the black pipes (PVC pipes are white) and also in Plastic Pressure
Pipe Systems. ABS plastic ground down to an average diameter of less than
1 micrometre is used as the colorant in some tattoo inks. Tattoo inks that
use ABS are extremely vivid. This vividness is the most obvious indicator
that the ink contains ABS, as tattoo inks rarely list their ingredients.It
is a copolymer made by polymerizing styrene and acrylonitrile in the presence
of polybutadiene. The proportions can vary from 15 to 35% acrylonitrile,
5 to 30% butadiene and 40 to 60% styrene. The result is a long chain of
polybutadiene criss-crossed with shorter chains of poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile).
The nitrile groups from neighbouring chains, being polar, attract each other
and bind the chains together, making ABS stronger than pure polystyrene.
The styrene gives the plastic a shiny, impervious surface. The butadiene,
a rubbery substance, provides resilience even at low temperatures. ABS can
be used between -25 and 60 °C.Production
of 1 kg of ABS requires the equivalent of about 2 kg of oil for raw materials
and energy. It can also be recycled.
Information above reproduced from
Wikipedia®
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