MUNDOMATERIAL

Introduction I’ve been following closely some of the blogs I discussed in my post Blogs boycotting plastic and paying attention to the most hated plastic items. Disposable bags are probably the first on the list, but no doubt that plastic bottles are quickly following the same path. Many different issues converge on plastic bottles, angrying activists and worrying a bigger part of the population. So what are plastics bottles made of? What are the main issues related to the way we use them today? I’ll start with the basics, then. photo credit: bbaunach Common types of plastics used in bottles Most of bottles used for drinks are PET, or polyester terephtalate. Now, PET is one of the biggies in the plastic market, with Western Europe usage reaching 3.5 million tonnes in 2006. PET is used in many other applications apart from bottles, but packaging remains its turf. It’s resistant, transparent and it doesn’t break easily. Bottles made of HDPE are also used but not... 
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1,3-Propanediol, also known as PDO, is an organic compound used as a monomer in a variety of applications. At the moment PDO can be obtained from both petrochemical and renewable sources. This gives me the chance to analyse how both routes lead to the same chemical, but not the same product. Some of the main applications for PDO are listed below: As a monomer in the production of polymers As heat transfer fluid, coolant and solvant As an additive in thermoplastic polyurethanes, to improve thermal, hydrolitic and dimensional stability As an additive in polyester systems, to improve flexibility of coatings formulationsas a chain extender in polyurethane formulations The largest producer of PDO is Shell, which manufactures it in its US plant in Geismar. Shell began PDO production in 2000 and it now has a plant capacity of 73 kt per year. The proprietary Shell method for producing PDO is the hydroformylation reaction of ethylene oxide (EO) with syngas to make 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (HPA)... 
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I just created a bioplastics group on linkedin to discuss related topics. I invite you to join it: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/1454117 Linkedin is a social network directed to professionals, to promote networking and discussions. You can check my profile, but if you are new to linkedin, I recommend you have a look around. For those of you that already know it, just say that it has become much more proactive. You can now use different tools to encourage professionals with similar interests to meet, tools like groups, questions or notifications of events. I have asked a few open questions, which anyone can answer. The great advantage to me is that with linkedin I can check what type of background the person answering has, which can be any really. Here you have links to my questions, although the 3 are closed now! what is the future of bottled water? How is REACH going to impact your business? What materials are used to produce bicycles? Have fun! AKPC_IDS += "1693,"; 
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Bioplastics and other new materials offering environmental advantages have created a bit of confusion with the terms related with their source and end of life. I would like to shed some light in some of vocabulary used, starting with perhaps the less defined and yet more important word: Bioplastic: Plastic obtained from natural and renewable sources Most bioplastics are biodegradable and compostable, but they do not need to be in order to be classified as bioplastics. Similarly, not all bioplastics are sustainable. In Brazil, for example, there has been a lot of interest in obtaining traditional plastics from soy and other fast growing crops. Even though it sounds great, there are concerns about the impact these crops may have on the rain forest surface. To better understand the differences between new bioplastics, it is important to have some concepts clear. I have divided the vocabulary in two main aspects: sourcing of the raw materials and degradation process of the bioplastic. Degradation... 
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