Polymers and plastic recycling – basic principles
How it works
Polymers are macromolecules built from many similar or alike small molecules (monomers). These building blocks are linked by chemical reactions into long chains or cross-linked structures. Plastics are usually synthetic polymers and are used in many ways because of their different properties. Depending on their structure, one distinguishes, for example, thermoplastics, elastomers and thermosets. Used plastics are collected, sorted and recycled in order to conserve resources and reduce environmental pollution. Important recycling routes are mechanical and chemical recycling; in addition, there is energy recovery, in which plastics are burned to obtain energy. Not all plastics are equally recyclable.
Polymers are formed through the chemical linking of many monomers. The structure of a plastic determines its properties and also whether it can be recycled mainly mechanically, chemically broken down, or only used for energy recovery.
An example
Why can thermoplastics usually be mechanically recycled more easily than thermosets?
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50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: Chemistry. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.