Sources And Origins

Question 1

How are most polymers obtained V

Answer 1

Crude oil which is found deep within the earths crust

Question 2

What are synthetic plastics ?

Answer 2

Plastics that are chemically manufactured

Often referred to as plastics as they exhibit the same plastic properties

Question 3

What is the issue with extracting synthetic plastics ?

Answer 3

Very costly

Question 4

Where are other plastics derived from if they don’t come from oil ?

Answer 4

Natural sources such as plastics

Most common is PLA used in 3D printers

Question 5

How is PLA obtained ?

Answer 5

From corn starch
This is then fermented to produce lactic acid which is then polymer used to produce polylactic acid

Question 6

What are bio plastics ?

Answer 6

Plastics from renewable sources such as corn starch

They are often developed to combat the environmental concerns to the non biodegradable properties of plastic polymers

Question 7

How is the polymer poly Ethene produced ?

Answer 7

1. Crude oil is drilled and pumped to earths surface
2. Oil transferred to oil tanker and shipped to oil distillery
3. Oil is heated to break it down and then undergoes fractional distillation
4. Chemical called naphtha is vented off from the distillery
5. This undergoes cracking so that individual monomers are produced
6. Monomers undergo polymerization to make the monomer Ethene polymerise into poly Ethene

Question 8

How does polymerisation work ?

Answer 8

Small monomers join together to make polymers ( polymerisation)

Many of the monomers are obtained from crude oil