what materials are used to make plastic?

Answer 1

Plastic covers a range of synthetic or semisynthetic polymerization products. They are composed of organic condensation or addition polymers and may contain other substances to improve performance or economics. There are few natural polymers generally considered to be "plastics". Plastics can be formed into objects or films or fibers. Their name is derived from the fact that many are malleable, having the property of plasticity. Plastic can be classified in many ways but most commonly by their polymer backbone (polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, acrylic, silicone, urethane, etc.). Other classifications include thermoplastic vs. thermoset, elastomer, engineering plastic, addition or condensation, and Glass transition temperature or Tg.

A lot of plastics are partially crystalline and partially amorphous in molecular structure, giving them both a melting point (the temperature at which the attractive intermolecular forces are overcome) and one or more glass transitions (temperatures at which the degree of cross-linking is substantially reduced).

Plastics are polymers: long chains of atoms bonded to one another. These chains are made up of many repeating molecular units, or "monomers". The vast majority of plastics are composed of polymers of carbon alone or with oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine or sulfur in the backbone. (Some of commercial interest are silicon based.) The backbone is that part of the chain on the main "path" linking the multitude of monomer units together. To customize the properties of a plastic, different molecular groups "hang" from the backbone (usually they are "hung" as part of the monomers before linking monomers together to form the polymer chain). This customization by pendant groups has allowed plastics to become such an indispensable part of twenty first-century life by fine tuning the properties of the polymer.

Answer 2

Mostly petroleum products. There are monomers (mono, meaning one, or one at a time) which must get linked together to form a chain (polymer, many pieces together).

There are many different kinds of plastics, depending on the other chemicals that are added to the chains, especially those that link chains together into strands. They can make plastics that are transparent, opaque, translucent, colored, rigid, flexible, hard soft, and many other properties can be developed.

The two most basic properties are whether a plastic can be melted and re-used over and over again (like candle wax can be re-melted) or whether is 'sets' like cooking an egg, and can't be melted and re-used. The kind that can't be re-melted is called 'thermosetting', which means it sets when it is heated. The other kind is called 'thermoplastic', which means that it softens when it is heated.

There are so many different kinds of plastics, that it woul dbe helpful for you to look up specific ones to learn about them. Try nylon, or polyethylene, or acrylic or polycarbonate. That should get you started. Have fun!

19 NOV 06, 1838 hrs, GMT.

Answer 3

the basic level is a fraction of crude oil which is then mixed with other products to gain the required material

Answer 4

thought it was oil ? at the bottom line.

Also, "plastic" is a descriptive word, not a product name... so you need to ask what is used to make polythene or nylon or whatever... not just "plastic".... that just means "to have plasticity" Ie. to be bendy and so on....

Answer 5

http://www.plasticsresource.com/s_plasticsresource/sec.asp?TRACKID=&CID=126&DID=228
Like that.