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Plastic Manufacturing - History

The document discusses the history, current state, and future trends of plastic manufacturing. It outlines how plastics have evolved from early synthetic materials to today's wide variety of plastics that are mass produced and consumed globally. New trends highlighted include smart polymers that respond to environmental changes, nanocomposites that enhance performance at a molecular level, RF-embedded plastics, and more environmentally-friendly bioplastics. The plastic industry continues research and development to create new materials with better performance properties.

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Amit Patel
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31 views2 pages

Plastic Manufacturing - History

The document discusses the history, current state, and future trends of plastic manufacturing. It outlines how plastics have evolved from early synthetic materials to today's wide variety of plastics that are mass produced and consumed globally. New trends highlighted include smart polymers that respond to environmental changes, nanocomposites that enhance performance at a molecular level, RF-embedded plastics, and more environmentally-friendly bioplastics. The plastic industry continues research and development to create new materials with better performance properties.

Uploaded by

Amit Patel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Plastic Manufacturing: Past, Present, and Future

History of Plastic Manufacturing


Plastics have indeed come a long way since their creation by
Alexandre Parkes in the form of Parkesine, a cellulose based
semi- synthetic thermoplastic substance. Although Parkesine
gradually became obsolete owing to soaring development costs,
plastic manufacturing continued unabated and the world
witnessed the advent of synthetic resin, cellophane wrap, rayon
fabric, polyethylene PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and many others.
Soon, we were inundated with bottles, cups, boxes, and utensils
made of plastic, revolutionizing our day-to-day life. So, what is
the current state of plastic manufacturing?

The Current Look of Plastic Manufacturing


Rapid developments in technology have triggered the creation of a variety of plastic materials,
which in turn has radically increased the consumption of plastics. From 2000 to 2010, the
world’s yearly consumption of plastics registered a massive growth from around 350 billion
pounds to over 550 billion pounds. In fact, the development of new products has led to
additional demand and enhanced consumerism in emerging economies like China, India as
well as developed economies like the United States.
As the world focuses on plastic engineering and plastics increasingly become a commodity,
there is a natural shift towards more productive manufacturing methodologies that will lower
the production cost. So far, plastics can be broadly classified into elastomers, thermosets and
thermoplastics. Elastomers are known for their flexibility and include substances like silicones
and neoprene. Melamines, polyurethanes, phenolics, and epoxy-based materials, which have
a soft consistency and are resistant to re-melting, fall under the category of
thermosets. Thermoplastics, soft in consistency with re-melting and recycling capabilities, are
the most widely used type of plastic. Polystyrene, nylon, polypropylene and polyethylene fall
under this category.

New Trends in Plastic Manufacturing


The search for new high performance plastics have always been one of the major goals of
the plastic manufacturing industry. Here are some newer trends currently entering the
market:
 Smart Polymers: These are in fact a set of polymers which can manipulate their dimensions
according to changes in environmental parameters such as amount of light, temperature,
availability of water and so on. These materials find numerous applications in the medical
sector.
 Nanocomposites: When nanotechnology combines with plastic engineering, performance
is enhanced at the molecular level. Nanocomposites generally include materials like
nanotalcs, carbon nanotubes, and nanoclays, which are characterized by high electrical
conductivity, dimensional stability, and flame retardancy along with resistance to scratch,
dent and heat. These nanocomposites are frequently used in the automotive and aerospace
sector as well as in food packaging, electronics, military hardware and more.
 RF or Radio Frequency embedded plastics: In these resins, a plastic medium embeds a
signal generator and can assume various shapes. These plastics are used in clothing
inventory tags, security system badges, hospital patient tracking, highway toll tags, cargo
container seals and many more industrial applications.
 Bioplastics: With the pioneering advancements being
made in this industry, the world is increasingly
becoming aware of the environmental effects of these
materials. Greener, more environmentally friendly
plastics are increasingly in demand. Eco-friendly
bioplastics, which are based on polymer resins from
plants, find a wide array of applications in electronics,
telecommunications, aerospace, automotive and other
markets. Plastics that decompose with the help of
bacteria have also been developed.

Research and development are an integral part of the plastic industry, as older products
become obsolete and newer materials with better performance become widespread in the
market. It is imperative for industries which rely on plastics as one of their raw materials to
stay abreast of new developments in order to take advantage of them.
We will talk for more advance and future trends in plastic materials and Plastic Technology
very soon.

Keep on reading, reading surprises.

Reference:
Posted by Katie Gerard on 07.24.2014 to a blog of Craftech Industries Inc. Hudson NY.

---------
Dr. Mamta Saiyad

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