Tolinski Plastics and Sustainability

Towards a Peaceful Coexistence between Bio-based and Fossil Fuel-based Plastics
1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-1-118-21783-2
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 296 Seiten, E-Book

Clearly lays out the issues related to plastics' effects on theenvironment, while also serving as a practical, non-academic guidefor making sustainability decisions about plastics recyclingand the newest bio-based plastics
Company managers, product developers, policy makers,environmental researchers, and plastics industry engineers areunder increasing pressure to find ways of minimizing theenvironmental footprint of plastic products. This accessible bookis designed to help readers understand the life-cycle impacts ofvarious plastics, clarifying the technical research and practicalarguments to show when bio-based and recycled plastics might beuseful options for reducing the overall energy consumption,greenhouse gas emissions, and waste associated with traditionalplastics.
Plastics and Sustainability compares traditional fossilfuel-based plastics with bio-based plastics in terms of properties,environmental impacts, and costs -- indicating what the mosteffective approaches could be for using recycled, biodegradable, orvarious bio-based materials. The book makes objective comparisonsbetween bioplastics and all commonly used plastics, focusing on howthey affect production economics, product requirements, andretailer and consumer needs. It incorporates research concerninglife-cycle assessment, production techniques, and commercialapplications, and presents "green" guidelines about product design,recycling, processing efficiency, and material selection. The bookalso reports on recent industry developments and commercial trendsin an effort to synthesize conclusions that are necessary forfinding the right balance between bio-based and fossil-fuel basedplastic products.
Check out the author's blog at http://www.plastech.biz/blog.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Tolinski, Michael

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements xi
Preface xiii
1. General Introduction 1
1.1 What is Environmental Sustainability? 4
1.2 Facing the Contradictions of Plastics 8
1.3 Plastics at Play in Consumer Lifestyles 10
1.4 Controversies Concerning Plastics: Recent Examples 11
1.5 The Desire to be "Green" 19
1.6 The Course of This Book: A Chapter-by-Chapter Overview26
2. The Life Cycles of Plastics 31
2.1 "Green Principles" - A basis forDiscussion 26
2.2 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) - A Baseline Tool 33
2.3 Plastic Lifetimes: Cradle-to-Gate... to Gate-to-Grave46
2.4 Towards a Hierarchy of Choosing Plastics for Sustainability66
References 68
3. Polymer Properties and Environmental Footprints 73
3.1 Background on Polymers and Plastics 75
3.2 Common Commodity Thermoplastics 82
3.3 Traditional Engineering Thermoplastics 95
3.4 Traditional Thermosets and Conventional Composites 100
3.5 Biopolymers: Polymers and Biological Origin 104
3.6 Additives and Fillers: Conventional and Bio-based 116
3.7 Concluding Summary 125
References 126
4. Applications: Demonstrations of Plastics Sustainability133
4.1 Trends in Sustainable Plastics Applications 136
4.2 Sustainable Plastics Packaging 137
4.3 Sustainable Plastics in Building and Construction Plastics146
4.4 Automotive Plastics and Sustainability 151
4.5 Specialized Applications and Plastics Sustainability 158
4.6 Conclusions about Sustainable Plastics Applications 162
5. Design Guidelines for Sustainability 169
5.1 Green Design Principles 172
5.2 The Wildcard: Consumer Preferences in Green Design 183
6. Sustainable Considerations in Material Selection187
6.1 A Broad Example of Material Selection: Plastics vs. Metalsand Glass 191
6.2 Material Selection for Common High-Volume PlasticsApplications 193
6.3 Bio-based Plastic Selection 202
6.4 The Selection Process: A Visual Approach 214
References 219
7. Processing: Increasing Efficiency in the Use of Energy andMaterials 221
7.1 Optimizing Resin Recycling 223
7.2 Optimizing Resin Recycling 223
8. Conclusion: A World with (out) Sustainable Plastics241
8.1 Trends Affecting Future Global Plastics Use 244
8.2 Future Progress Partnerships, Standards, Industry Practices,and Public Education 256
References

Über Autor(innen)

Michael Tolinski has been researching and writing about plasticssustainability issues for industry readers regularly since 1998(and since 2004 as a contributing editor for Plastics Engineeringmagazine published by the Society of Plastics Engineers). Hismaterials science and engineering degree and previous career as amanufacturing/materials engineer has given him a solid backgroundin plastics and in the practical problems faced by manufacturers.His first book, Additives for Polyolefins, was published in2009.