PLASTICS

Plastic is a material consisting of any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds that
are malleable and can be molded into solid objects. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high molecular mass,
but they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals,
but many are made from renewable materials such as polylactic acid from corn or cellulosics from cotton linters.

The word plastic is derived from the Greek word plastikos meaning "capable of being shaped or molded", from
plastos meaning "molded". It refers to their malleability, or plasticity during manufacture, that allows them to
be cast, pressed, or extruded into a variety of shapessuch as films, fibers, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much
more.

HISTORY

History of plastic started in the mid-1800 when chemist all round the world started experimenting with rubber, striving
to eliminate natural ingredients from its recipe (natural latex) and wanting to make it fully synthetic product that can
be mass produced all around the world. This exciting period of time soon gave birth to the first plastic compounds,
which after decades of perfection finally entered mass production in early years of 20th century.

Since the dawn of modern humanity, people of many civilizations used natural rubber as a means of protecting their
equipment and items from water and other natural elements, as well as building blocks of many useful articles. This
natural rubber (mixture of organic compounds such as latex and water) was gathered from rubber producing plants,
and therefore its production was greatly limited by natural resources. To combat this problem, many scientists started
working on fully synthetic alternatives. With the help of the chemist who identified that building block of rubber were
polymers, the first manmade plastic was ready to be produced.

First man who managed to produce plastic in a laboratory was Alexander Parkes(1813 - 1890), metallurgist and
inventor from England. He spent his entire life working on various techniques of rubberizing items, and in 1950 he
finally managed to combine organic material found in cellulose and other substances to form first man-made plastic
called Parkesine. He immediately saw that plastic has much better abilities than rubber it could be industrially
produced in large quantities, easily molded when hot, sturdy and durable when cooled. Even though he did not
manage to become rich man from his invention (his large scale manufacturing business failed after few short years of
work, mostly because high price of plastic and imperfect recipe which caused Parkesine to easily break and be
flammable), but his exploits served managed to introduce plastic to the general population and scientists in both
Europe and North America.

First notable successor of Parkesine was John Wesley Hyatts Cellulloid plastic, which was derived from cellulose
and alcoholized camphor. In the beginning, celluloid was used as a substitute for ivory-made billiard balls in late
1860s, but they quickly went out of the style after initial recipe proved to be very flammable. This setback did not
cause destruction of celluloid business because by late 1800s it became foundation and building block of movie and
photography industry.
With plastic being mostly used only for specific purposes (film and photography), first years of 20th century finally
brought an age of plastic that we know today with the introduction of Cellophane and first fully synthetic plastic
compound called Bakelite. Created by the famous inventor Leo Baekeland (born and raised in Belgium, and then
moved to United States in 1890s where he remained for the rest of his life), the compound he named Bakelite
enabled for the first time true revolution of plastic and the birth of the modern plastic industry. With superior features,
durability and ease to use, Bakelite soon found its way into thousands upon thousands of products in Europe and
North America (from jewelry, to common items, construction, scientific instruments, packaging, automobiles and
airplanes). After Bakelite, new and improved plastic products started appearing in regular schedule (Catalin,
Plexiglas, Teflon, Nylon, etc.). The era of Bakelite finally ended after the end of WWII when chemist produced much
more stable and durable plastic compounds (most notably ABS, Styrofoam and Lexan), which remained in use even
to this day.

In modern society, plastic represents one of the basic building blocks of our industry, construction, common items,
transport items, vehicle manufacture and science. No matter where you look you can find at least one plastic item,
and because of that, governments all around the world are striving to found solution for plastic waste disposal. Large
amount of disposable plastic products (bottles, plastic bags, etc.) are heavily controlled and manufactured in the way
that recycling is easier and in some case even biodegradable.

TIMELINE
1284 Oldest surviving historical record of naturally made plastic compounds from horn and tortoiseshell.

1823 Macintosh discovered rubber. He used it to protect cotton from moisture.

1845 Inventor Bewley produces natural rubber from plant gutta percha. This plant became used regularly
during 19th century, especially to produce insulation for underwater telegraph cables.

1862 Londoner Alexander Parkes unveiled first man-made plastic compound. He named it "Parkesine,
but it quickly disappeared from public use because of high costs.

1869 Failure of Parkesine led to the creation of Xylonite by the hands of Daniel Spill. His company also
went bankrupt after few years.

1869 American inventor John W. Hyatt invented Celluloid, which entered mass production in 1872.This
was successful plastic product.

1897 Two German researches developed Galalith, a type of plastic that is still in use today (mostly as
plastic buttons).

1908 - Jacques E. Brandenberger invented Celophane light, non-reactive and easy to use plastic
compound that become very successful after DuPont made it water-proof in 1927. It remains widely used even
today.
 1909 New York chemist Leo H. Baekeland created first fully synthetic plastic product called Bakelite. It was
received with great enthusiasm, and was used in everything, from jewelry to cars and airplanes. Original pieces
of Bakelite plastics are now considered rare and precious.

1920s Jewelry manufacturer Coco Chanel introduced jewelry made from Bakelite.

1920 Creation of Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. This invention brought to the close tradition of cultivating
plants who gave us natural rubber. PVC is most commonly used plastic product of the modern world.

1925 The term Plastic was introduced.

1927 After patent for Bakelite expired, Catalin Corporation started producing plastic Catalin with the
same formula as Bakelite. Their 15 new colors proved to be very successful.

1931 Plexiglas, strong and transparent type of plastic was invented in two different laboratories. It instantly
becomes success.

1938 Chemist Roy Plunkett discovered Teflon, very durable and resistant plastic that is today most
commonly used in kitchenware.

1939 - Nylon was created, to the relief of all women in the world.

1946 After World War II, chemist all around the world improved the formulas of Catalin and Bakelite,
making them obsolete.

1948 ABS was made, plastic which is today used in millions of products from Lego pieces to golf club
heads, musical instruments, car parts, and piping.

1953 American chemist Daniel Fox invented a new type of polycarbonate resin thermoplastic that was
very durable and almost bulletproof. Named Lexan, this plastic became instant hit and is used even today in
various modern products, such as iBook, iPod and many others.

1954 Styrofoam becomes available.

1965 Chemist Stephanie Kwolek develops light, extremely resistive and durable plastic compound that is
today known under the name of Kevlar. Today, this plastic is used by military and police in bullet resistive
protective wear.

1998 Bakelite bracelet under the name of Philadelphia bracelet" reached the price of 17 thousand dollars
at Treadway/Toomey auction.
REFERENCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic
http://www.historyofplastic.com/plastic-history/history-of-plastics/
http://www.historyofplastic.com/plastic-history/plastic-timeline/
TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES MANILA
363 P. CASAL STREET, QUIAPO, MANILA

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

CHE 512

PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT

HISTORY OF PLASTICS

SUBMITTED BY:

ALDA, GLADYS M.

SUBMITTED TO:

ENGR. LINA D. DELA CRUZ

DATE:
NOVEMBER 17, 2016