What is the position of the plastics industry in our country

Since the birth of the first plastic product, celluloid, the plastics industry has a history of 120 years. Its development history can be divided into three stages.

Natural Polymer Processing StageThis period is characterized by the modification and processing of natural polymers, mainly cellulose. In 1869, the American Heyt discovered that adding camphor and a small amount of alcohol to nitrocellulose could make a plastic substance, which could be molded into plastic products under hot pressing, and was named celluloid. In 1872, a factory was established in Newark, USA.

At that time, in addition to being used as a substitute for ivory, it was also processed into windshields and motion picture films for horse-drawn carriages and automobiles, and since then the plastic industry has been established, and the molding technology has been developed accordingly.

1903 German AEichengreen invented the non-flammable cellulose acetate and injection molding method. In 1905, Bayer AG of Germany carried out industrial production.

During this period, some chemists synthesized a variety of polymers in the laboratory, such as linear phenolic resins, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, etc., which laid the foundation for the later development of the plastics industry. In 1904, the world's plastic production was only 10 kt, and no independent industrial sector was formed.

Synthetic resin stageThis period is characterized by the production of plastics from synthetic resins as raw materials. In 1909, the American Beckland made a breakthrough in the synthesis of resin with phenol and formaldehyde, and obtained the first patent for phenolic resin. In phenolic resin, after adding filler, it is hot pressed to make molded products.

In the United States, Baker Bush Orchid synthesized phenolic plastics for the first time. In the thirties of the 20th century, nylon was introduced again, and it was said to be "a fiber made of coal, air and water, thinner than spider silk, harder than steel, and superior to silk". Their appearance laid the foundation for the invention and production of various plastics later.

Due to the development of the petrochemical industry in World War II, the raw material of plastics was replaced by coal, and the plastic manufacturing industry has also developed rapidly. Plastic is a very light substance, and heating it at a very low temperature can make it soft and make it into any shape you want. Plastic products are colorful, light in weight, not afraid of falling, economical and durable, and its advent not only brings a lot of convenience to people's lives, but also greatly promotes the development of industry.

However, less than 100 years after the invention of plastics, if people were ecstatic about their creation, now they do not crack or take pains to deal with these things that pervade life and pose a great threat to the human living environment. Plastics are chemical petroleum products extracted from petroleum or coal, which are difficult to degrade naturally once produced. Plastic will not decay and degrade in the ground for 200 years, and a large amount of plastic waste is buried in the ground, which will destroy the permeability of the soil, make the soil compact, and affect the growth of plants.

Livestock can also die from digestive tract obstruction if they accidentally ingest plastic that has been mixed with feed or left in the wild.

Plastic is a material that is made from synthetic polymers or processed from natural substances such as resin or starch. They are formed by polymerization at high temperatures, pressures, or during chemical reactions, in which small molecule compounds (monomers) are arranged together to form a long chain-like molecular structure. This molecular structure gives plastics many unique properties, such as plasticity, acid resistance, alkali resistance, and strength, among many others, making them indispensable materials in the production process.

The processing process of plastics can be divided into two different methods: hot working and cold working. Thermal processing refers to the process of heating a plastic and allowing it to cool down in a specific form to form the desired shape, which can be achieved by blow molding, injection molding, extrusion, and calendering.

Cold working, on the other hand, involves the processing of plastic sheets or sheets into the desired shape at room temperature, including cutting, stamping, bending, and thermoforming.

Plastics play a very important role in human life, and can be seen in various materials of goods and daily necessities, such as plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic buckets, plastic furniture, plastic pipes, etc. In addition, plastic has the advantages of low production cost, light weight, easy processing and dyeing, chemical stability, and non-perishability, making it the preferred material to replace many traditional materials.

However, with the growing concern about plastic waste and pollution, the environmental impact of plastics is also becoming more and more concerned. During processing, plastics release harmful chemicals that slowly accumulate in the environment and have a long-term negative impact on the planet. As a result, reducing the amount of plastic used and efficiently collecting and discarding plastic has become one of the important challenges facing the global community.

In conclusion, plastic is a material made of polymers or natural substances formed during the polymerization process, which has the advantages of plasticity, chemical stability, etc. However, its environmental impact has also received more and more attention, and how to reduce its environmental impact has become an important issue. <>

Plastics, lightweight, portable, wear-resistant, insulating, and low-cost, have produced about 8.3 billion tons of plastics worldwide, including plastic bottles, plastic bags, and other plastic products, since they were invented 70 years ago. How much does it add up? That's equivalent to 1 billion elephants combined.

According to the estimation of a team of scientists in California, only 30% of the world's plastic is used, 70% of the plastic has become garbage, most of which is buried under the land, and a large amount of garbage is floating in the ocean. What's even more terrifying is that in the coming decades, we all need to share the entire planet with this plastic waste.

The basic molecular structure of plastic is ethylene, and thousands of ethylene molecules are linked to form polyethylene polymer compounds, which are very tough after molding, which can make plastic bags for our daily use, and can also build spaceships. This toughness allows plastic products to last longer than humans need to use them, unlike other substances, which can be broken down by microorganisms after disposal.

Long-term exposure to the sun and pulling can make plastic products separate into many small pieces, but the carbon-carbon bond in the molecular structure is the strongest molecular bond in the compound, which is difficult to be damaged and decomposed by the ordinary environment, and microorganisms cannot easily digest it, but it produces more trivial and small plastic waste. It can take decades to disappear completely.

Scientists are beginning to explore new types of degradable plastics, using a combination of carbon and oxygen bonds, which can be more easily destroyed, and the decomposed small molecules can also be digested by microorganisms and buried in the ground for several months before being completely degraded.

However, degradable plastics also have some problems, firstly, they are more expensive than traditional plastics, and secondly, they have poor high temperature resistance, are easy to soften, and sometimes they are not easy to use. Therefore, the market's acceptance of degradable plastic products is still relatively low, after all, everyone is not willing to spend more money to buy more difficult plastic products. But are you really willing to spend the rest of your life with plastic waste?

First, because it is lightweight and convenient, second, it is wear-resistant, third, the most important thing is low cost, and fourth, it is the most important point of view with good insulation!

The invention of plastic is one of the masterpieces of mankind in the 20th century. It has become an indispensable and important raw material for modern civilized society, and is widely used in aviation, aerospace, communication engineering, computer, military, agriculture, light industry and food industry and other industries.

Plastic, literally, is a material that can be molded, that is, a material that is malleable. Today's plastics are a term for a class of materials that are cast, extruded, blow molded, or injected into a model by casting resin at a certain temperature and pressure.

In the 60s of the 19th century, due to the shortage of ivory in the United States, there was a lack of raw materials for making billiards. In 1869, the first artificially manufactured plastic celluloid was patented. Although celluloid is the earliest artificially manufactured plastic, it is a man-made plastic, not a synthetic plastic.

The first synthetic plastic, which was made by heating and pressing phenolic resin, was made in the early 20th century by the American-Belgian chemist Beckland in 1910.

Beckland added phenolic resin to wood chips, heated and pressure-molded into various products, and named it Becklit after his surname, which we call Bakelite. After the First World War, the rapid development of the electrical industry such as radio and radio increased the demand for bakelite, which has been used to this day.

Instruments in the chemical industry that need not be acted upon by acids were once made of special steel, which was expensive and replaced by alkali-resistant bakelite, which was much cheaper. But bakelite is not alkali resistant. It is a good material for making buttons and chess pieces. Some parts in tractors and cars are also made from it.

In 1918, the Austrian chemist Johann made urea-formaldehyde resin, which is colorless and lightfast, and has high hardness and strength, is more non-flammable, and can transmit light, also known as electric jade. In the 20s of the 20th century, it was used as a substitute for glass in Europe. By the 30s of the 20th century, melamine-formaldehyde resin appeared, which was made of urea.

Melamine-formaldehyde resin can be used to make arc-resistant materials, which are fire-resistant, water-resistant and oil-resistant. Since then, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, plexiglass and other plastics have appeared one after another. This cannot but be said to be the door opened by bakelite.

Since 1976, plastic has become the most widely used material in human beings, penetrating into all aspects of people's lives. The electronics industry must use metal as a conductor and plastic as a border. In terms of communication, the ** wire is insulated with plastic, and every receiving device in the world is installed in a plastic shell.

There are many living facilities and daily necessities made of plastics in the home, such as furniture, sewage pipes, household appliances, etc., and some plastics are also used to make coatings. After plastic was used in the packaging industry, it quickly made its way into retail malls in large quantities, and it made every small item a big package.

Sporting goods are also made of plastic. For example, it is used to build surfboards, windsurfing boards, diving snorkels, etc.

The transport of garbage, especially plastic waste, from developed countries to developing countries has always been a matter of criticism, and recently there has been a bill to limit it.

After 12 days of discussions, on May 11, 2019, more than 1,400 delegates from some 180 countries and regions revised the Basel Convention in Geneva to include plastic waste in import and export restrictions. This means that the "secretly" export of plastic waste from developed countries to developing countries will become a thing of the past.

This new "plastic limit" measure was proposed by Norway, but it is worth noting that it did not receive overwhelming support from the participants, with representatives of the United States, Argentina, Brazil, and the chemical and plastics industries opposing it, and the United States did not participate in the discussion and signing of the agreement because it is not a party to the Basel Convention.

For countries that have joined the Basel Convention, this amendment means that "all shipments of plastic waste will no longer take place without prior notification and consent from the competent authorities of the exporting, transit and importing countries", according to Basel Convention expert Puckett. As for non-parties to the Basel Convention, such as the United States, the amendment will be even more impactful, as many Basel Convention signatories will be prohibited from accepting plastic waste from non-parties.

However, there are some exceptions, such as the fact that the United States can still export plastic scrap to any member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). "This means that in the Asian region, the U.S. can only export plastic waste to two countries, South Korea and Japan, which are OECD members," Packett said. ”