Today most plastics that are recyclable such as water bottles and grocery bags are called thermoplastics. They are polymers that can be melted down and turned into something else. A second category of plastics called thermoset resins cant be turned into new plastics as easily. These resins include electrical insulation and epoxy glue. Most of these products made from these plastics end up as trash and are unusable again.
Chemists at the University of Groningen in Netherlands have created a thermoset plastic that when heated heals it self instead of decomposing. They are composed of polyketones that are cross linked using bismaleimide which is an organic compound. The reaction is reversible as well. When the plastic is heated to about 300 degrees the material becomes unlinked but when is cools is become a polymer again. The metal can be used for the same uses many plastics are used for.
This invention is a large step for the understanding of self-healing materials that will someday lead to the creation of recyclable thermoset plastics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/science/28obheal.html?_r=1&ref=science
10 comments:
1-good details
2-interesting topic
3-topic that is important to our environment/can relate to
1-could have explained a little more about facts
2-explain why thermoset plastics arent as easy to recycle
1-I learned that in the future they are going to find a way to recycle thermoset plastics
This is a vital contribution with so much potential. Yet again, the review had inconsistent wording with the actual article. Nonetheless, it's a breakthrough in organic chemistrr!!
3. -Good topic on a relevant issue
-Very clear and easy to understand
-Showed how people were trying to help
2.-Could have had a little more information on each topic
-There were a few grammatical errors
1.-I learned that universities are trying to take a stand in recycling.
Some goods things about this summary was the topic was interesting, it was well written, and it deals with the whole going green thing.
Although this was a good article there are some things that could be improved on. For instant, I wish that their was a scientists opinion on the matter. Also, it was a little confusing, so I wish he could have explained more.
One thing I learned from this article was that scientist are trying to make things more environmentally friendly.
3:
This article is good because it is on a fairly common issue of recycling. Also, it mentions a reversible reaction, which was a recently studied topic in class. Lastly, it summarizes the whole article.
2:
The terms could have been explained so people could understand the differences more easily. Maybe a quote from a scientist could be used next time to show his or her opinion.
1:
In this article I learned that there is currently a process underway of discovering how to reuse plastics.
1.Interesting topic
2. Deals with problems occuring today.
3. Good use of facts and details.
1. Culd have used better grammer.
2. Could have talked about the scientists more.
1.This artical taught me that in the future the will develope a way to recycle thermoset plastics.
3 Good topic
2 Easy to understand
1 Good summary
2 Put a little more information
1 Talk a little more about the scientists
1 Learned about the future way in recycling thermoset plastics
1-interesting topic
2- well written
3- easy to understand
1- could explain why thermoset plastics cannot be recycled
2- you could add some more information to complete the topic
1-i learned that scientist are finding a way to recycle thermoset plastics
1. Supports the concept of "Going Green"
2. Recycling is part of everyday life
3. The appropriate amount of details were provided to show the important parts of the article
1. In regards to the differences, the terms used could have been explained to help our understanding.
2. Throughout the article there were tons of grammatical errors.
1. I learned that attempts are being made to make more things environmentally friendly.
3 Things Done Well:1. Article chosen was written on an interesting (practical) application of chemistry.
2. Summary concisely summarized a complicated subject.
3. Summary related the article to work we have done in class (studying keytones).
2 Things Needing Improvement:1. Terms such as thermoplastics and resins should have been explained if used.
2. The section on plastic waste was somewhat irrelivant to the topic.
1 New Thing I learned:1. That polymers reform when cooled from a molten state.
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