The human industry , in the broadest sense of the term, is truly surprising.If we think of all the technologies developed so far, even the most terrible, such as nuclear and everything that has To do with war, there is an easily discernible guiding thread: The human eagerness to adapt the world to their own needs .
Proof of this are the materials taken from nature that the human being has used to make tools, clothes and objects of various kinds: metals such as iron, gold and silver; animal skins; woods, stones...
But PLASTIC is the first synthetic material created by us , and from its creation everything around us changed.Do you want to see how?
Welcome to the planet of plastico!
Before 1830, natural resins such as betun, gum, amber or lacquer, and with these substances innumerable products were produced that had different applications.For example, it is known that already in Egypt, Babylon, Greece, India and China they were known and used to manufacture from ritual items to substances for the mummification of the dead.
But in 1830 an investigation began, we would say simultaneously, which led different scientists to the synthesis of raw materials derived from oil , and in 1860 the American inventor Wesley Hyatt carried out a method of pressure processing of a nitrate of ce Lulosa, the pyroxylin , previously treated with camphor and alcohol.We are not going to tire you with technical details, the important thing here is that this product, which I call celluloid , was super successful to manufacture from dental plates to shirt collars! The bad thing is that it was flammable and deteriorated if you exposed it to light.
But it led to a number of chemical investigations where one of the results was the discovery of a phenol-formaldehyde compound, which they called bakelite , which had an incredible mechanical resistance at high temperatures, as well as electrical insulation.The altered natural polymers were developed, and the rayon By 1920, the German chemist Hermann Staudinger suggested that the plastic was made up of macromolecules or giant molecules, and from there, all the investigations gave the plastic industry a huge boost.
For example, looking for simple molecules that could be linked to create polymers , discover they saw that the ethylene gas polymerized under heat and pressure, and so they created a thermoplastic that they baptized polyethylene , and then towards the decade of 50 the polypropylene appeared.
Replacing atoms, they produced the polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which was used for construction and was especially suitable for pipes and pipes of all kinds, as it was a very hard and fire resistant plastic (Today it is known to be carcinogenic).
Experimenting with additives they achieved softer materials, which were used to make waterproof clothes, toys, curtains, tablecloths...
Plastic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), similar to PVC, is what we know as teflon , the coating of pans and non-stick pots.
In the 30s in Germany they developed another plastic, the polystyrene , commonly used to make glasses.From this came later expanded polystyrene , which is a rigid white foam whose name in Spanish-speaking countries varies considerably: in Venezuela it is called anime , in Spain poliexpan , corchopan or white cork ; in Mexico, unicel ; in Argentina, telgopor ; in Bolivia plastoform ; in Ecuador, espuma-flex…
And in the 30s the first artificial fiber was created, the nylon , whose first use was the development of parachutes during the Second World War, and from there quickly passed to the textile industry.
The Second War led to the appearance of synthetic rubber, as Germany lost its natural sources of latex, and This country developed a great program dedicated to this.The synthetic rubber was one of the reasons why the slavery exploitation of the rubber plantations in South America ended.
The subsequent decades were devoted to research and plast product experimentation ico, which flooded life and the environment.
Take a look around you: from pens to your cell phone, computer cover, keyboards, TV bodies, electric appliances, chairs, tables, cutlery, bottles, mouse pads, the hoops of the sixpacks of beers and soft drinks, packing boxes, bags, wrappers, toys...what other things do you see? It's almost infinite, right? Because there are also fire-retardant textile mixtures with which clothing, mattresses, kitchen gloves, and anything you can imagine are made.
And the plastic is versatile and malleable like no other material, but at the same time, like no other material, its elaboration is extremely polluting .And that is one of its main problems, its little biodegradation, because it will become part of nature in hundreds of years .
Have you heard of that immense plastic island that floats in the Pacific Ocean? There are millions of polymer waste (bottles, glasses, plates...) that we, the guardians of the planet, have failed to degrade .Every time we throw the plastic in the trash and is not recycled, we are part of the problem and not the solution.
Fortunately, research has also given positive results: today there is the biodegradable plastic , made with organic raw materials-such as bananas, potatoes, cassava, etc.-which, at the end of its useful life, decomposes in a short time mpo and that can also serve as an organic fertilizer.
And other research is being carried out on worms whose main food is precisely plastic, as we explain in this article.
If you want to know more about how to help the planet by recycling plastic, read how earthships houses are made, totally self-sustaining.
Images: KK_photographics, akaitori, Mike Carney, Hitty Evie, Thomas Hawk, Museum of Vancouver, JPC24M, Dennis Hill, you know
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