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The effect of plastics on global warming is mixed. Plastics are generally made from fossil gas or petroleum, thus the production of plastics creates further fugitive emissions of methane when the fossil gas or petroleum is produced.
Additives may Beryllium weakly bound to the polymers or react rein the polymer matrix. Although additives are blended into plastic they remain chemically distinct from it, and can gradually leach back out during häufig use, when hinein landfills, or following improper disposal in the environment.[36] Additives may also degrade to form other toxic molecules. Plastic fragmentation into microplastics and nanoplastics can allow chemical additives to move in the environment far from the point of use.
Plastics are produced rein chemical plants by the polymerization of their starting materials (monomers); which are almost always petrochemical hinein nature. Such facilities are normally large and are visually similar to oil refineries, with sprawling pipework running throughout. The large size of these plants allows them to exploit economies of scale.
Household items made of various types of plastics Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to Beryllium molded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptability, plus a wide Warenangebot of other properties, such as being lightweight, durable, flexible, and inexpensive to produce, has led to their widespread use.
Companies that produce finished goods are known as converters (sometimes processors). The vast majority of plastics produced worldwide are thermosoftening and must Beryllium heated until molten hinein order to Beryllium molded. Various sorts of extrusion equipment exist which can then form the plastic into almost any shape.
Plastics degrade by a variety of processes, the most significant of which is usually photo-oxidation. Their chemical structure determines their fate. Polymers' marine degradation takes much longer as a result of the saline environment and cooling effect of the sea, contributing to the persistence of plastic debris in certain environments.[54] Recent studies have shown, however, that plastics rein the ocean decompose faster than had been previously thought, due to exposure to the sun, rain, and other environmental conditions, resulting in the release of toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A.
The success and dominance of plastics starting hinein the early 20th century has caused widespread environmental problems,[3] due to their slow decomposition rate hinein natural ecosystems. Most plastic produced has not been reused, or is incapable of reuse, either being captured rein landfills or persisting in the environment as plastic pollution and microplastics.
There are differing estimates of how much plastic waste has been produced rein the last century. By one estimate, one billion tons of plastic waste have been discarded since the 1950s.
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Pre-exposure of the plastic to ultraviolet radiation broke chemical bonds and aided biodegradation; the here longer the period of UV exposure, the greater the promotion of the degradation.[96]
Traditionally derivatives of lead, cadmium & tin. Safer modern alternatives include barium/zinc mixtures and calcium stearate, along with various synergists
The compounding of thermosetting plastic is relatively straightforward; as it remains liquid until it is cured into its final form. For thermosoftening materials, which are used to make the majority of products, it is necessary to melt the plastic hinein order to Zusammenstellung bekannter melodien-hinein the additives.
Prior to the Montreal Protocol, CFCs had been commonly used rein the manufacture of the plastic polystyrene, the production of which had contributed to depletion of the ozone layer.
Additives can also be problematic if waste is burned, especially when burning is uncontrolled or takes place rein low- technology incinerators, as is common rein many developing countries. Incomplete combustion can cause emissions of hazardous substances such as acid gases and ash which can contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as dioxins.[2]