This practical guide begins with general background to the polyethylene family, with price, production and market share information. It describes the basic types of polyethylene including virgin and filled polyethylene, copolymers, block and graft polymers and composites, and reviews the types of additives used in polyethylene. It gives the low down on the properties, including, amongst others, rheological, mechanical, chemical, thermal, and electrical properties. It goes on to describe the processing issues and conditions for the wide range of techniques used for polyethylene, and also considers post-processing and assembly issues. It offers guidance on product design and development issues, including materials selection. It is an indispensable resource for everyone working with this material.

Polypropylene is now the third largest consumed plastic material after polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride. This book discusses the advantages and disadvantages of working with polypropylene, offering practical comment on the available types of polypropylene, its mechanical properties and in-service performance, and processing. Comparisons with other common plastics are also provided, which highlight the advantages of this polyolefin.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has been around since the late part of the 19th century, although it was not produced commercially until the 1920s; it is the second largest consumed plastic material after polyethylene. PVC products can be rigid or flexible, opaque or transparent, coloured, and insulating or conducting. There is not just one PVC but a whole family of products tailor-made to suit the needs of each application. PVC is extremely cost effective in comparison to other plastics with a high degree of versatility in end-use and processing possibilities, as the reader will note from this book. It is durable, easily maintained, and can be produced in a large range of colours. As a result PVC finds use in an extensive range of applications in virtually all areas of human activity, including medical equipment, construction applications such as flexible roof membranes, pipes and window profiles, toys, automotive parts and electrical cabling. The PVC industry has also started to tackle some of its end-of-life issues. This practical guide provides comprehensive background on the resins and additives, their properties and processing characteristics, as well as discussion of product design and development issues. There have been, and still are, issues and perceptions over environmental and health acceptance covering vinyl chloride monomer, dioxins, phthalate plasticisers, and lead (and cadmium) based heat stabilisers and these are discussed in depth in this book. This book will be of interest to raw materials suppliers and processors or end-users of PVC, as well as anyone with a general interest in this versatile material: resins and additives properties and testing design issues processing, including post processing and assembly property enhancement sustainable development

A Practical Guide to Plastics Sustainability: Concept, Solutions, and Implementation is a groundbreaking reference work offering a broad, detailed and highly practical vision of the complex concept of sustainability in plastics. The book's aim is to present a range of potential pathways towards more sustainable plastics parts and products, enabling the reader to further integrate the idea of sustainability into their design process. It begins by introducing the context and concept of sustainability, discussing perceptions, drivers of change, key factors, and environmental issues, before presenting a detailed outline of the current situation with types of plastics, processing, and opportunities for improved sustainability. Subsequent chapters focus on the different possibilities for improved sustainability, offering a step-by-step technical approach to areas including design, properties, renewable plastics, and recycling and re-use. Each of these pillars are supported by data, examples, analysis and best practice guidance. Finally, the latest developments and future possibilities are considered. Approaches the idea of sustainability from numerous angles, offering practical solutions to improve sustainability in the development of plastic components and products Explains how sustainability can be applied across plastics design, materials selection, processing, and end of life, all set alongside socioeconomic factors Considers key areas of innovation, such as eco-design, novel opportunities for recycling or re-use, bio-based polymers and new technologies

This text provides the basic history, molecular structure and intrinsic properties, practical applications and future developments of polyethylene production and marketing - including recycling systems and metallocene technology. It describes commercial processing techniques used to convert raw polyethylene to finished products, emphasizing special properties and end-use applications.

The new edition of this bestselling reference provides fully updated and detailed descriptions of plastics joining processes, plus an extensive compilation of data on joining specific materials. The volume is divided into two main parts: processes and materials. The processing section has 18 chapters, each explaining a different joining technique. The materials section has joining information for 25 generic polymer families. Both sections contain data organized according to the joining methods used for that material. A significant and extensive update from experts at The Welding Institute A systematic approach to discussing each joining method including: process, advantages and disadvantages, applications, materials, equipment, joint design, and welding parameters Includes international suppliers’ directory and glossary of key joining terms Includes new techniques such as flash free welding and friction stir welding Covers thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers, and rubbers.

After price and delivery time, the most frequently asked question about a product is 'How long will it last?' Lifetime expectancy is often many years, the service conditions may be complex, and there is a scarcity of definitive data on durability. The situation is complicated by the fact that there are a vast number of degradation agents, service conditions, properties of importance and different plastics. There are many inherent difficulties in designing durability tests. In many cases, the time scale involved is such that accelerated test conditions are essential. Whilst large amounts of durability data are generated by accelerated methods, much of it is only useful for quality control purposes and relatively little has been validated as being realistically capable of representing service. Most assessments of the lifetime of plastics are made by considering some measure of performance, such as impact strength, and specifying some lower limit for the property, which is taken as the end point. Lifetime is not necessarily measured in time. For example, for some products it will be thought of as the number of cycles of use. The object of this publication is to provide practical guidance on assessing the useful service life of plastics. It describes test procedures and extrapolation techniques together with the inherent limitations and problems. The Guide aims to make available the wealth of information that can be applied to help maximise the effectiveness of a durability-testing programme. This guide seeks to be comprehensive but concentrates on the most common environmental effects causing degradation. The test procedures used are outlined and the relevant textbooks and international standards are well referenced. Examples of lifetime testing studies are cited. The Practical Guide will be useful for anyone responsible for designing, manufacturing or testing plastic components. It will also be of benefit to suppliers and users of end products, as assessment of useful lifetime is critical to the economics and safety aspects of any component. Key features Test methods outlined Accelerated testing discussed Prediction methods described Standards cited Key sources of information listed