He is one among us.

He uses varieties of products made out of plastics

in his daily life

But,he understands little about the value of this

material

Nor does he understand the harm he does to the

environment by his careless disposal

And he is also equally confused with what he

hears about this material

This presentation is for him

 Plastics

Organic molecule of high molecular weight

Ethylene Wax Polyethylene

C2H4
n (C2H4 ) - ( C2H4 -)n

gas semisolid solid

 Polymer and plastics

Polymer is a large molecule where large

number of chemical units called monomers
are joined together to form a long chain.

Plastics are those polymers which can be

processed and shaped the way we want
 Classification of Plastics

Thermoplastics Thermosets

 plastics that can be  plastics once

processed again and processed can not be
again reprocessed

resin
product resin
product

product

pellets
 Plastics - how it is made

ethylene

propylene

***
Crude Oil
Plastics
Cracker
Plastics- how it is processed

• Injection moulding
• Blow moulding
• Extrusion process
• Rotational moulding
Injection Moulding
Molten material is
injected to a closed mold

A mold is a replica of the

product made in metal

Mold is cooled & product

is ejected out by opening
the mold
Blow moulding
Molten material is extruded
in tubular form (parison)

Definite length is transferred

to an open mold

The mould is closed and air is

forced so that parison takes
shape of the mold

Mould is cooled and the

product is ejected out
Extrusion-Film

Molten polymer is
extruded & blown to
form a bubble

Bubble is cooled
and flattened

Flattened bubble is
slit and wound
Extrusion-Fiber / Raffia
Molten polymer is
extruded in the form of
film & slit into tapes or
extruded as filaments

Tapes/Filaments are
stretched and oriented
to get required strength

 Product is annealed and

wound
Extrusion-calendering

Molten polymer is
extruded in the form
of a sheet

Sheet is embossed
if necessary

Product is cooled &

wound
Extrusion - pipes and profiles
Molten polymer is
extruded through a die

It is then passed through

a sizing unit where it is
given the final shape

Product is cooled &

cut into required length

Rotational moulding

Powdered material is
loaded into the mould

Mould is heated and

rotated

Molten material takes the

shape of a mould

Mould is cooled and the

product is taken out.
 Plastics

 Material of choice

 Enriches the quality of life

 Eco-friendly material

 Industry larger than steel and aluminum

 Material of choice
 user friendly

 versatile

 light weight
energy efficient

 non-corrosive

 aesthetic

abundance
 Material of choice
Metal Plastics Glass Plastics

Paper Plastics Wood Plastics

Material of choice
Case Study- Milk Packaging

Glass bottles Plastic pouches

storage storage

sterilization filling
filling
washing storage
storage
return transport
transport
delivery
Material of choice

 Weight of a glass bottle : 200 grams

 Weight of a plastic pouch: 4.0 grams

Glass
Plastic
milk-53%
m i l k- 9 3 %
15-20 lakh liters of milk every day

Less Storage space

Less Inventory
Less operational cost
Less wastage
Less effluent
Material of choice

When Plastics are replaced by

Conventional materials

– 300% more in terms of weight of packaging

- 150% more in terms of volume

– 100% more in terms of energy consumption

Enriches the quality of life
u ’
h r
T
Comfort
Material
Technological advancements
Quality products

 material for user friendly products

 material for hygienic packaging

 material for prolonged shelf life

 material for retention of quality/freshness

Material meet the needs of every segment

in our lives
Industry larger than steel and aluminum

Plastic In Daily Life

 Household
 Agriculture
 Automotives
 Building and Construction
 Electronics and Electrical
 Health and Hygiene
 Transportation
 Recreation
 Consumer Goods-Packaging
Household
Agriculture
Automotives
Building and Construction
Electronics and Electrical
Health and Hygiene
Processed food
Medicare
Transportation
Consumer Goods-
Packaging
Eco-friendly Material

Criteria

 Improve quality of life

 Reduce pollution load on the environment
 Use non-renewable energy resources more
efficiently
 Contribute to the preservation of land, water
resources and forests
 Recyclable / lending to recovery of energy
 How Plastics Are Eco-friendly ?

Efficient resources utilization

 Plastics in agriculture - optimum water utilization

 Plastics in transport - fuel efficiency

Improve quality of life

 Hygienic food packaging

 Provide clean, hygienic water
 Quality medicare products
 How Plastics Are Eco-friendly ?
Reduce pollution load

 Less by-products
 Minimum air pollution
 No effluent

Preservation of natural resources

 Alternative to wood products

 Replacement to metals and glass
 Replacement to paper
Plastics waste- the issue

“ Littering ”
 Source of waste

10
Cons umption
Was te
8

0
Packaging Cons truction Automobile s Ele ctrical
 Littering

Cause
 our throw-away culture

Solution
 Systematic disposal
 Organised collection
 Scientific disposal
What to do with Waste ?

 Reuse
 Recycling
 Land-fill
 Incineration
 Why We Should Recycle ?

 Effective handling of waste stream

 Reduces our reliance on landfill
 Protects our health and environment
 Reduces the need of raw materiel
 Conserves our natural resources
 Recycling

Conservation of Resources
 Recycling Methods

 Mechanical recycling
 Chemical recycling - Feedstock
 Thermal recycling - Energy
 Mechanical Recycling

 Product at the end of its service life is

converted to a new product

• Product at affordable cost

• Alternative source of raw material
Recycled products - the issue

Product quality
 Quality
Cause
 Unguided

Solution
 Government regulations / legislations
 BIS standards
 Recycling institutes
Recycled products- the issue
Biodegradability
 Degradable plastics are special class of
material
Degradable plastics are today
used in agricultural and speciality
applications.

We don’t require biodegradable

plastics for durable products like
refrigerators, washing
machine,PCs, automobile parts
etc
Today, Plastics are the material of choice.
Because they are versatile and user friendly,
it finds application in every segment of our life
It is the material we live with, will continue
to influence our lives in the future
We must ensure that it does not harm the
environment we live with
...To achieve this we must
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
 A
Presentation
by
Product Application &
Research Centre

Reliance Industries Limited