Plastic makes our daily life easy!

What is plastic?

Plastic, polymeric material that has the capability of being molded or shaped, usually by the application of heat and pressure. The Greek word plasticós means "to mold." The properties of plastic, such as low density, low electrical conductivity, transparency, and toughness, allows plastic to be made into a great variety of products. The plastic products include:

Tough and lightweight beverage bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Flexible garden hoses made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Insulating food containers made of foamed polystyrene.

Plastics are synthetic materials, which means that they are artificial, or manufactured.

1. Crude oil, the unprocessed oil that comes out from the ground, contains different hydrocarbons. The job of oil refinery is to break down large hydrocarbons into smaller ones.

2. A petrochemical plant receives refined oil containing the small monomers they need and creates polymers through polymerization.

3. A plastics factory buys the end products of a petrochemical plant which are resins, then molds to form the final plastic products.

How to make plastic: polymerization

Ethylene is a small hydrocarbon consisting of four hydrogen atoms and two carbon atoms with carbon-carbon double bond.

During the polymerization, monomers combine to form polymer chains. When ethylene is polymerized will get a polyethylene resin.

Resins are sold to plastic factories, usually in the form of powder, tiny granules, or pellets.

  A monomer from oil- This one is hydrocarbonethylene.

A polymer -polyethylene - made of ethylene monomers.

These pellets, or resins, are chains of polymers if you look at them on a molecular level.

Uses of plastic

Plastic is so versatile because it can be rigid, tough and flexible. Plastics play an important part in our life. Plastics have the unique capability to be manufactured to meet very specific functional needs for consumers. The end products of plastic are lightweight and also have good thermal and electrical insulation properties and also corrosion resistant. Plastics are also easy to mold into complex shapes and forms, allowing integration of different materials and functions.

Packaging

Plastics packaging protects and preserves perishable food for longer. The barrier properties of plastics ensure that food keeps its natural taste while protecting it from external contamination. Plastic packaging protects against contamination of foods and medicine and helps prevent the spreading of germs during manufacture, distribution and display such as plastics pill capsules.

Electronics

Due to the thermal and insulating properties of plastic, plastics are used with electronic devices. The ability of plastics to isolate electrical currency, combined with the resistance to mechanical shocks, stress, flexibility and durability. Plastic as a vital applications for safety, reliable and efficient power supplies.

Transportation

Plastic is an important material when making modes of transportation because it is tough, resistant to corrosion, durable, lightweight, and easy to colour. Plastic is found in the fenders, bumpers, trunk lids, housings for headlights and side view mirrors, grilles, hoods, doors, and wheel covers.

Lastly, plastics are eco-friendly because it can be recycled according to the recycle code.

In conclusion, plastic is an organic chemical compound which brings convenient and usages in our daily life. Plastic can be recycled, so it would not harm our environment.

Reference:

http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/chemistry/plastics/readmore.html

http://global.britannica.com/science/plastic

http://www.plasticseurope.org/use-of-plastics/packaging.aspx

http://www.plasticseurope.org/use-of-plastics.aspx

http://www.robotoid.com/appnotes/construction-plastics-in-household-items.htm

http://www.plasticseurope.org/use-of-plastics/electrical-electronic.aspx

http://www.plasticsindustry.com/plastics-benefits.asp

How USEFUL butane in your life!!

Do you know butane gas play an important role in our life?
If there's no butane gas ....how will it be to our life?

<<< will we still be like this?




Butane gas is used as lighter fuel for a common lighter or butane torch and is sold bottled as a fuel for cooking and camping. Butane is one of dozens of gases derived from raw natural gas. It is often combined with propane to produced a product namesd as liquid propane gas (LPG). This is the bottled gas that we normally used in camping stoves and outdoor gas-powered grills.

TEST OF INJECTOR GAS TORCH MADE FROM 100mm CARTRIDGE CASE.

Isobutane gas is form from butane with the changed of molecular shape. It's chemical formula is C10H4. It used in lighter because it's highly flammable and has relatively no danger other than it's flammability.

DO YOU KNOW it can also used is cosmetics?

WHY is it used in cosmetics and personal care products?

Butane, isobutane, propane and isopentane are volatile substances derived from petroleum and natural gas. These ingredients are used in cosmetics and personal care products as a replacement for chlorofluorocarbon or CFC propellants, some of which have been shown to have negative effects on the environment. 

BUTANE!

Butane is an organic compound with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane attach with four carbon atoms. Butane is a gas in room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Butane are highly flammable, colorless, easily liquified gasses. The name butane comes from the roots but-(butyric acid) and -ane. 

Crazy Science experiment: Make a coca-cola + Butane Rocket! 

Effects and Health Issues!

Inhalation of overwhelming butane can cause euphoria, drowsiness, narcosis, asphyxia, cardiac arrhythmia, flunctations in blood pressure, temporary memory loss and frostbite. When abused directly from a highly pressurized container, it can causes death from asphyxiation and ventricular fibrillation.

Pickle…pickling…pickle food- VINEGAR!

“Mmm…it taste much better than the raw taste of this vegetables and fruits.” “Eww…it taste too sour for me.” “Do it your own rather than buy outside. It’s simple and easy to make this “fingerfood”!” “It make my appetite more better! ” From those conversation what is it all about? It’s about pickle food.

What is pickle food? I think most of us know it very well.

Pickle food is the food that produced by pickling process. Pickling is the process of food preserving by immersion in an acidic solution-Vinegar. Pickle food is actually not only for food preserving is also for the taste and flavor purpose of yours. The main ingredients of this pickling process is vinegar.

Pickling process with the use of technology.

Traditional way of pickling process

What do you know about vinegar?

I think we will only answer vinegar smell bad, vinegar taste sour, there’s two type of vinegar it’s either black vinegar or white vinegar. Do you really go and do some research before you use it or eat it? Nah...probably not! Vinegar is liquid that consisting mainly acetic acid  (CH3COOH) and water. Vinegar is now more used as the ingredient of cooking. There are many types of vinegar. The most common vinegar is Apple cider vinegar and Balsamic vinegar.

The process of making Apple Cider Vinegar and Balsamic Vinegar:

Way to make Balsamic Vinegar

Way to make Apple Cider Vinegar

Besides than using vinegar for pickling process. Vinegar also contain many type of others uses.Vinegar can also use it for cleaning purpose, medical purpose, agricultural purpose and use it for food and beverage. Vinegar is quite useful in our daily life although it doesn't provide a good smell.

Here are some uses of vinegars and specific uses of Apple Cider Vinegar:

Not all vinegar suitable for all uses you might need to take a look first before you use it for some purposes. Apple Cider Vinegar is always the best choices for health usage. It's really good for health even my family use it to maintain their healths. Vinegar also contain pro's and con's. We have to use it with a suitable amount and not overuse it although it's sometime helpful and even good for health.

The side effect of vinegar:
1) Vinegar is very acidic, if we overuse it,it might damage our teeth enamel.
2) Interferance with potassium level. The potassium level in our body will decrease. This is because once we consume too much of vinegar our body might need to produce potassium and used up more potassium to digest the vinegar. The lack of potassium in out body may causes us fatigue, constipation, muscle damage or an irregular heartbeat.
3) Sore throat, the strong acid in vinegar can irritate our throat and make it become sore.
4) Acne appear, apple cider vinegar cleanse your body to clear out the impurities in your body that's why acne appear will appear on our skin because impurities come out from our skin. This effect will only last for a week.

For more detail about the side effect you can click into the link below:

1. http://www.livestrong.com/article/491270-bad-effects-of-vinegar/
2. http://www.livestrong.com/article/525130-what-are-the-dangers-of-ingesting-too-much-vinegar/
3. http://www.med-health.net/Apple-Cider-Vinegar-Side-Effects.html

Through the research we know that the main liquid consist in vinegar is Acetic Acid. So, let's now talk a lil bit about Acetic Acid.

Acetic Acid (CH3COOH)

Acetic acid is produced by fermentation of ethanol. The systematically name of Acetic acid is Ethanoic acid. It is an organic compound with the chemical formula, CH3COOH. Acetic acid is the main component of vinegar. Acetic acid has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell that is why the vinegar taste sour and smell bad. Acetic acid is also type of carboxylic acid with the structure(figure below). It’s one of the simplest carboxylic acids.

A dilute acetic acid solutions is produced by fermentation and oxidation of natural carbohydrates called vinegar, salt, ester and more. In the form of vinegar, acetic acid solutions typically contain 5 to 18 % of acetic acid, the percentage usually calculated by mass. It use as a condiment, and also in the pickling. The amount of acetic acid used as vinegar on worldwide scale is not large, but this is the most old and well known application. Acetic acid has a carboxyl group -COOH so its a type of carboxylic acid. Acetic acid can separate from the molecule by ionization:

CH3CO2H → CH3CO2− + H+

Because of the release of  proton (H+), so Acetic acid has the acidic properties. Acetic acid is a weak monoprotic acid. Concentrated acetic acid is harmful towards our skin . Its corrosive to our skin so must handled it very carefully. Acetic acid not only use in vinegar. It also use as a medical purposes, ester production, vinyl acetate monomer production and very small amount uses in vinegar compare to the other production.

Conclusion

In our daily life, we might use a lot of thing that related with organic chemicals and compund that we don't really realise and observe. Some of the organic compound may be harmful to us but some may be good to us but for sure everything once we overuse it .It will somehow giving a side effect. Organic chemical not only will be in vinegar it can be in others foods, medicine, daily use product and more. Have you ever wonder how much chemical you actually consume? Let's start to observe this chemical world and find out more about it! 

"Know more it's always better than don't know! Start before you regret!"

Reference

1. www.culturesforhealth.com/making-vinegar-basic/
2. http://www.chemguide.co.uk/
3. http://www.versatilevinegar.org/usesandtips.html
4. http://www.livestrong.com/article/491270-bad-effects-of-vinegar/
5. http://www.livestrong.com/article/525130-what-are-the-dangers-of-ingesting-too-much-vinegar/
6. http://www.med-health.net/Apple-Cider-Vinegar-Side-Effects.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar