The Trash Fields And Flooding

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02 Nov 2017

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1.0 Introduction

1.1 What is plastic?

1.1.1 Thermosets

1.1.2 Thermoplastics

2.0 The origins of plastics

2.1Parkestine

2.2 Celluloid

2.3 Bakelite

2.4 Cellophane

2.5 Polyethylene

2.6 Nylon

2.7 Liquid crystal polymer

3.0 Problems associated with plastics

3.1 Production Problems

3.2 Landfill Disposals

3.2.1 Wildlife Deaths

3.3 Marine Pollution

3.3.1 Marine deaths

3.3.2 Trash Fields and Flooding

3.4 Incineration

3.5 Recycling Issues

4.0 The future of plastic

5.0 Conclusion

6.0 Recommendation

7.0 Bibliography

8.0 Appendices

Summary

Plastic plays one of the most essential parts in everyday usages such as cars, bags and different types of plastics have their own different but unique characteristics although basically they came into one classification. There are 2 major types of plastics namely as thermosets and thermoplastics. To trace the very first origin of the plastics existence shoots back to the 19th century but yet it is still commonly used everywhere because of its indispensable factors. However, despite these appealing usefulness, plastics have full potential of devastating millions of lives both in water and on land. Not only can they put threats to the countless lives but also can pose major problems in the environment issues. Scientists and engineers are now making huge attempts to make further researches in order to reduce these impacts to its minimum, and last but not least to make it a much better and desirable useful products.

Justification

As an engineering student, this topic is relevant to my physics field of study and I believe that this report will benefit me not only for the present but also for my further studies. Moreover, after all the researches I have gone so far, I gained sound knowledge and supreme information on plastic issues which I believe will help me further more in my case studies in the near future.

Introduction

Plastic is one of the most impressive innovations of the last millennium. The name itself derives from the Greek work 'Plastikos' which means the ability of taking any shape or mold. This innate capability is incomparable by any other natural occurring substances. Plastics are a subspecies of a known polymer materials. These are made up of large molecules, formed by clustering and joining many thousands of much smaller molecules or monomers together. Other kinds of polymers are such as films, elastomers (rubbers), fibers, and biopolymers (ie , proteins, cellulose and nucleic acids). Plastics are often thousands of small molecules (monomers) are formed together. Other types of polymer are such as fibers, films, elastomers (rubber), and bio-polymers (eg, cellulose, proteins, and nucleic acids). Plastics are composed from low-molecular-weight monomer precursors (organic), which mostly are initiated from petroleum, that are combined together by a process known as "polymerization". Plastics were given the name because of its unique abilities that is to be shaped to almost any forms and they can be stiff, hard or flexible and soft. It is light, low cost and is one of the desirable properties. They are used in various different items such as cars, bullet-proof vest , toys, and bottles and also as food containers. This report will present about the origins of plastics, the problems associating to it and its future.

http://www.pollutionissues.com/Pl-Re/Plastic.html

1.1 What is plastic?

Plastic is any synthetic or semi-synthetic organic polymer. While plastics may be made from just about any organic polymer, most industrial plastic is made from petrochemicals. Thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers are the two types of plastic.

1.1.1 Thermosets

Thermosetting polymers, or thermosets, solidify into a permanent shape. They are amorphous and considered to have infinite molecular weight.

1.1.2 Thermoplastics

Thermoplastics, on the other hand, can be heated and remolded over and over again. Some thermoplastics are amorphous, that means it does not have definite shape or character, while some have a particularly crystalline structure. Thermoplastics typically have a molecular weight between 20,000 to 500,000 amu.

2.0 The origin of Plastic

2.1 Parkestine

Because Parkestine is the pioneer man-made plastic, it was very popular, useful and had many similarities to the modern ones. Alexander Parkes, who was working in the electroplating department later set up a Parkestine company after his successful invention. Although he attempted to produce in great mass, his goal was deteriorated due to his use of cheap and substandard raw materials.

However, with his concept of Parkestine, other companies continued to distribute celluloid.

2.2 Celluloid

One of the most controversial achievements in the history of the production of plastic was the invention of celluloid. Several experiments have been conducted by John Wesley Hyatt and his brother using Parkesine as a replacement for the ivory that was formally used to make billiard balls. Hyatt eventually produced a solid nitrocellulose after many tests and several experiments and eventually invented celluloid.

2.3 Bakelite

The first completely synthetic plastic was found by Leo Baekeland in 1907. He was a chemist from Belgian who set up his own consulting business. He turned his aim towards producing photographic paper after setting up this business. He was later offered $1 million for his process which was Bakelite plastic. Being made from coal tar resin, it took the container’s shape as it gets rigid. The most well-known uses of Bakelite are brake pad construction and electrical applications.

2.4 Cellophane

Cellophane was developed in 1908 by a Swiss chemist, Jacques E. Brandenberger. He had always wanted to creat a cloth to repel liquids whenever he saw a glass of wine spilling on a cloth. However, he failed to achieve the desired results from his experiments. He later began working with the film and started testing different production processes. He developed a machine in 1912, to produce the film and filed a patent for cellophane. In 1927, cellophane was eventually made by William Hale Church, by spraying moisture proof with a lacquer.

2.5 Polyethylene

In 1933, with the invention of polyethylene plastic became more versatile due to its flexibility and durability that is both chemically resistant and inexpensive. This is the type of plastic that is used in food storage containers, bottles, bags and other similar products. As its chemical properties made it ideal for insulating defense systems, it was also used as a famous substance during World War II. The manufacturers later started using polyethylene for different and various purposes after the war.

2.6 Nylon

The first nylon material was created by Wallace Carothers at DuPont in 1935. Polyamide is the term for nylon and there is two-step process to creating it: first, to create the material itself, the chemicals are combined and to make it useful, the material is manufactured. The miracle fiber, Nylon, was later introduced to the world in 1938.

2.7 Liquid crystal polymer

Polymers with partial order formed between the liquid and the solid phases are called liquid crystal polymers. The discovery of liquid crystal polymer dated all the way back to 1888, when Friedrich Reinitzer, an Australian chemist was conducting experiments on substance based on cholesterol and discovered a different and strange phenomenon. He was later aided by Otto Lehmann, a German physicist and they were able to create a cloudy liquid matter which we called as ‘liquid crystal’.

3.0 Problems associated with plastics

Plastic is a versatile and potentially unbreakable material, which makes it unique for a number of commercial and household purposes. Indeed, plastic has become a replacement for many items which used to be made from other substances, such as plastic bottles for condiments or for a ketchup. In many cases, this is very useful and convenient. However, plastic has a many environmental drawbacks, beginning with the plastic production and extending to its disposal. http://www.ehow.com/about_5045721_environmental-problems-plastic.html

3.1 Production problems

Plastic actually derived from petroleum, natural gas or similar substances. This means that they are made from oil (carbon-rich raw material), and are large carbon containing compounds. They are evolved into a substance called polymer resin, which is then reshaped and transformed into a desired object. However, as a petroleum, plastic plays a big role in oil dependency, at a stage when it is typically accepted that oil will not be accessible indefinitely. Also, the method of plastic production represents a supreme source of air and water pollution.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5045721_environmental-problems-plastic.html

3.2 Landfill Disposals

The vast bulk of plastic, especially plastic bags whine up in landfills. Besides the fact that available landfill space is becoming rarer, plastic gives big problems for landfills. Most plastic is not perishable; in another word it is more accurate to say that they are not biodegradable; they cannot be down to their simplest component fragments easily. The further details will be focussed on the wildlife death concerns on this plastic issue.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5045721_environmental-problems-plastic.html

3.2.1 Wildlife Deaths

The real impact of plastic bag litter threatens on wildlife both in the marine environment and also in wildlife.

Plastic bags which are ingested, cannot be digested easily and so they remain in the gut. The plastic that has been eaten by and animal remains in an animal’s gut and stop food digestion and gradually lead to slow and torturous death. As plastic bags can take up to almost a thousand years to decompose or break down, the dead animal will consequently free the plastic back into the marine environment and eventually starts killing other marine lives again. For instance, birds that frequently get strangled in plastic bags are normally left either choking or breaking their wings and end up of starvation. In May 2003, a Platypus was rescued from the Don River, Tasmania, after getting tangled by a plastic bag, unfortunately got cut deep into its skin. The platypus, however, conquered the species' innate apprehension to approach a person for help. After seeking for medical advice and giving the platypus time to recover, it was assumed to get better and later was set free. The platypus was named ‘Lucky’ by its rescuer and the media.

http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=934

3.3 Marine Pollution

Marine pollution is the occurrence of harmful or potentially harmful effects from entry into the ocean after the introduction of chemicals, hazardous particles from industrial or either agricultural or domestic wastes or from invasive organisms. Most of the sources of marine pollution is land-based. This often comes from non-point source pollution, such as agricultural runoff and wind. While these causes mostly are based similar to that of water pollution, there are many specific reasons that they seem to differ. This section will emphasise mainly on marine deaths, trash fills and flooding.

3.3.1 Marine Deaths

In August 2000, an eight metre Bryde's whale died soon after being stranded on a Cairns beach. An autopsy showed that the whale's stomach was deeply loaded with 6 m2 of plastic. These obstructions and barriers in animals can great torments, illness and eventually lead to their deaths. Bryde's whales, like many other whale species, feed on things that came together with a vast amount of water that they swallowed. If the Bryde's whale had died at sea, it probably would have decayed, and released a tremendous amount of plastic that is capable enough to kill other marine lives for centuries to come. Tens of thousands of whales, birds, seals and turtles are killed each year from plastic bag remains in the marine environment as they generally mistake with their food jelly fish for them to these plastics litters. Turtles have also been rescued with plastic bags tightly packed in their throat – and part of the bag projecting out of their mouth.

http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=934

3.3.2 Trash Fields and Flooding

Plastic bags also created the problem of flooding. Bags and plastics that could filter through the sewers and finally reaching the ocean lead to trash fields. Marine animals absorb toxins intake of particles from the trash field. Plastic bags are also clogging drains, storm drains, causing water and sewage to overflow and become a breeding ground for disease-causing germs, bacteria and insects. Severe flooding in India, Bangladesh and China, resulting in a significant loss of life and property caused, to some extent, plastic bag suffocation storm water drains, especially during the monsoon season, prompting the ban on plastic bags. St. Louis has had its own stories with the rivers flooding and storm sewers overflow.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/143109-environmental-problems-with-plastic-bags/

http://plasticless.com/2009/09/23/clear-and-present-danger-plastic-litter-and-urban-floods/

3.4 Incineration

Some industry officials are endeavouring to increase the incineration of plastic as a means of decomposition. The similar process known as pyrolysis applies in baking plastics into hydrocarbon soup which is mainly for reusing in oil and chemical refineries. However, both of these processes are more expensive than recycling and each process pose a serious air pollution threats such as global warming.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5045721_environmental-problems-plastic.html

3.5 Recycling Issues

The choice of recycling plastic bags is fixed. While it is possible recycling of the true plastic bags made of polyethylene bags, process reengineering requires dry, clean, empty bag inconsistent use. Plastic packaging bags for food cannot be recycled. This makes the limit of the feasibility of recycling plastic bags, which also contributed to the landfill. Although sometimes referred to as film bags, plastic bags, manufacture and marked as the 2nd and the 4th polyethylene theoretically can be recycled, which means very little recovery process. The economic utility of the amount required is very high. Most single stream recycling plant refused to sort the difficulty of dealing with other collected garbage bag machine jams film bag finishing bag.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/143109-environmental-problems-with-plastic-bags/

http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=934

4.0 Future Plastic

Polylactic acid (PLA), a plastic substitute from the fermentation of plant starch (usually corn) is fast becoming a well-known option to traditional petroleum-based plastics. The PLA also will not emit toxic fumes when burned.

Photovoltaic (which capture energy from the sun) has been widely used in many applications, from solar panels on the roof of the building solar farms to agricultural and grazing land. These system cannot operate without components made of polymer insulation, sealing and protective performance. For countries which receive a lot of sun, the photovoltaic cell is unlimited potential uses of photovoltaic: mobile solar cells can be integrated into small mobile device. Similarly, vehicles can also cover a thin layer of the photoelectric conversion film to produce electricity. Plastic can also help to conserve natural resources. A new product that gives us a glimpse into the future is Perfectuile, the innovative tile production from recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) (two types of plastic). It is the first plastic tile combination of ecological aesthetics, lightness, as well as heat and sound insulation. Nevertheless, they are highly resistant to wind, snow and hail and are safe enough from cracking or neither will they flake.

http://www.popsci.com/earthtalk/article/2008-06/future-plastics-0

http://blog.eun.org/futurenergia/2011/03/what_is_the_future_of_plastics.html

5.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, plastic has been one of the indispensable materials and is vastly used in several purposes for centuries because of its exclusively particular characteristics such as strong, light and can easily be folded or molded. Despite the negative factors it could have on our lives, it is still not very plausible yet to replace such a unique material. Last but not least, throughout the research, the future section has vividly shown the possible and beneficial points to remedy the major hazards by developing a way to successfully dispose it.

6.0 Recommendation

Plastic materials are one of the essentials that have been still on using in our daily lives but after all the researches being done so far, I came to know some of the drawbacks and impacts it can severely have on our environment and this belief tells that each and every one of us are fully responsible for any cases that it is of plastic’s concern. Reduce, reuse and recycle as far as possible and scientists who are of full capability to sort out some of the unknown plastic mysteries should doubtlessly put full effort to lessen the risk it can have on our environment.



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