HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION OF

PLASTICS

Presented by - Jay Chaudhari

Reg. No-2019020030061347
Subject – packaging of dairy products
 HISTORY OF PLASTICS
 By 1936, American, British, and German companies were producing
polymethyl Methacrylate, PMMA (acrylic glass)

 Polyethylene (PE), commonly known as polythene, was discovered in 1933

by Reginald Gibson and Eric Fawcett

 PEs are cheap, flexible, durable, and chemically resistant.

 LDPE is used to make films and packaging materials, while HDPE is used for
containers and plumbing. While PE has low resistance to chemical attack,
it was found later that a PE container could be made much more robust
by exposing it to fluorine gas, which modified the surface layer of the
container into the much more tougher Polyfluoroethylene

 Polypropylene (PP) is similar to polyethylene, but it is much more robust. It is

used in plastic bottles, carpets plastic furniture, and in automobiles
 Polyurethane was invented in blown form for mattresses, furniture padding,
and thermal insulation

 Two chemists named Rex Whinfield and James Dickson, developed

polyethylene
terephthalate (PET or PETE) in 1941

 PET is less gas-permeable than other low-cost plastics and so is a popular

material for making bottles for carbonated drinks

 PET is also strong and abrasion resistant, and is used for making mechanical
parts,
food trays, and other items.

 One of the most impressive plastics is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), better

known as Teflon
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LDPE & HDPE

LDPE HDPE

 Less compact structure  More compact structure

 Loosely bound  Tightly bound
 More branching : Less tighter  Less branching : More tighter
bonding bonding
 Low density: 0.910-0.920  Higher density: 0.910-0.970
gm/cc. gm/cc.
 Branching depends on temperature and pressure employed
during polymerization
 CLASSIFICATION OF PLASTICS

 Plastics can be classified in many ways, but most commonly

by their polymer backbone (polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene,
polymethyl methacrylate, and other acrylics, silicones,
polyurethanes etc.)

 Other classifications include: thermoplastic, thermoset,

elastomer, engineering plastic, addition or condensation or
polyaddition (depending on polymerization method used),
and glass transition temperature

Major Groups of Plastics

1. Thermoplastics
2. Thermosetting plastics
1.THERMOPLASTICS
 Some plastics get soft ( or melt ) when heated, and hard again when they
cooled
 Such plastics can be made soft and hard again and again

 A plastics which can be softened repeatedly by heating and can be moulded

into different shapes again and again, is called a thermoplastics
 Thermoplastics are flexible so they can be bent easily (without breaking)

 Thermoplastics are also knows as “ Thermosoftening” plastics

 Some of the example of thermoplastics are : Polythene, Polyvinyl chloride

(PVC), Polycarbonate, Polystyrene and Polyester etc
 If we take a plastics bottles (polythene bottle) and add quite hot water in it, the
plastics bottle gets deformed – its shape changes and becomes irregular
 The happens because the bottle is made of a thermoplastic (like polythene)
which becomes soft on getting heated by hot water thus leads to changes in
shape
 The article made of thermoplastics become soft on heating

 This show that the article made of thermoplastics bend easily

 In other words, we can say that thermoplastics are flexible

 In fact, thermoplastics are used for making those articles which do not get too
hot and are flexible
2.THERMOSETTING PLASTICS
 There are some plastics which get soft only once-the first time they are
heated after being made
 When such plastics are heated for the first time, they become soft(or melt)
and can be moulded make an article of any desired shape
 On cooling, this article becomes very hard and rigid.

 When this plastics article is heated again, it does not become soft at all

 A plastics which once set does not become soft on heating and cannot be
moulded a second time, is called a thermosetting plastic
 Thermosetting plastics are also known as thermosets
 Some of the examples of thermosetting plastics are : Bakelite and Melamine

 Thermosetting plastics are hard and rigid

 Thermosetting plastics are not flexible

 Duo to this, thermosetting plastics cannot bend

 When an article made of thermosetting plastics is forced to bend, it breaks

 Thermosetting plastics are used for making the handles of cooking utensils
(such as pressure cooker handles) because
1. they do not soften on getting heated, and
2. they are conductors of heat.
 Thermosetting plastics are used for making electrical fitting such as electric
plug, sockets etc, because
1. they do not become soft on getting heated, and
2. they do not conduct electricity.
Please note that the articles made of thermoplastics can be recycle, whereas the
articles made of thermosetting plastics cannot be recycled.
 THERMOPLASTICS AND THERMOSETTING PLASTICS DIFFER IN
STRUCTURE
 We will now discuss why thermoplastics can be softened by heat but
thermosetting cannot be softened by heat.
 This is due to the difference in their structure.

 It can be explained as follows

1. Both thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics are made up of long chain

molecules called polymers, thermoplastics. the long polymer chains are not
cross-linked with one another.
2. Dual polymer this on heating, the individual chains can slide over one
another and thermoplastics materials becomes soft and ultimately melts.
THANK YOU