Acrylic polymers have broad applications in the manufacture of paints and paper coatings, emulsion adhesives, plastics, lighting, glass replacements, personal care products and even dental fillings. However, acrylic acid and some acrylate oligomers and monomers adversely affect human health as eye and skin irritants. Exposure to monomers occurs primarily in the workplace via inhalation and derm...

The volume of plastics that are subjected to impact simulation has grown rapidly. In a previous paper, we discussed why different material models are needed to describe the highly varied behavior exhibited by these materials. In this paper, we cover the subject in more detail, exploring in depth, the nuances of commonly used LS-DYNA material models for plastics, covering important exceptions an...

Petroleum-based plastics have replaced many natural materials in their former applications. With their excellent properties, they have found widespread uses in almost every area of human life. However, the high recalcitrance of many synthetic plastics results in their long persistence in the environment, and the growing amount of plastic waste ending up in landfills and in the oceans has become...

Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) ingest plastic marine debris of a wide range of shape, sizes and sources. To better characterize this plastic and provide insights regarding its provenance and persistence in the environment, we developed a simple method to classify plastic fragments of unknown origin according to the resin codes used by the Society of Plastics Industry. Known plastics...

Plastics are a ubiquitous part of modern life. They can be modified to meet the demands of almost any conceivable application1. While plastic is extremely useful and has been very important in the development of society since the beginning of the 20th century, it also presents a problem. It is estimated that 25 Mt of plastic waste was generated in the European Union in 2008. As much as 49 % of ...

This contribution gives a critical discussion about a concept for plastics recycling with thermal treatment. Plastics wastes are converted into synthesis gas. The crude synthesis gas is injected into exhausted oil reservoirs. In this way atmospheric pollution is avoided. The oil reservoir has filtering capacities. Moreover there is a chance that the hydrogen injected may crack the geopolymers i...

Naturally occurring polymers have been utilized for a long time as materials, however, their application as plastics has been restricted because of their limited thermoplastic processability. Recently, the microbial synthesis of polyesters directly from carbohydrate sources has attracted considerable attention. The industrial-scale production of poly(lactic acid) from lactic acid generated by f...

After the first life cycle of plastics various recycling processes are available for further utilization of these valuable materials. For an ecologically and economically satisfying solution the most suitable process has to be chosen. In chemical recycling polymers are degraded to basic chemical substances which can be reused in the petrochemical industry. For soiled waste plastics or waste pla...