Can we use a better Polymer

The main properties for a material are:

• Strong
• Tough
• Flexible
• Tension
• Soft
• Density

You could test a material for a specific property in many ways, for a carrier bag you could put in various weights to see how much the bag can hold without the handles snapping or the bottom of the bag falling through.  You can modify the properties of a material by adding a chemical.  For example, if you want to create a super-strong carrier bag you would have to add the correct chemical to the chemicals which are already being used to create the material.

There are some ethical issues to do with using plastic and include:

• Expensive
• Non-Biodegradable

There are also some ethical issues to do with using synthetic materials and include:

• It uses chemicals to make the material
• It is extra materials being used to create the material

For the boat hull, the sail and the poles used to be made from wood.  Nowadays, they are made from polyester, a lighter material which doesn’t require you to cut down trees to make the sails and poles.  This way the forests are sustained.  The shopping bag used to be made from paper, but this meant cutting down lots of trees, so polythene carrier bags were created and these don’t require the cutting down of trees.  Companies are now using bio-degradable bags or ask you to re-use bags and receive a reward. Transport wheels used to be made from wood, but now tyres are made by vulcanised rubber which is a better material for the environment.  A good material which could be used for items is a material which can go through the Life Cycle Assessment.

The Life Cycle Assessment is a way of being more efficient and to make the world cleaner because it considers the ways that using something will affect the world

Natural rubber is a natural polymer and is made from hydrogen and carbon (hydrocarbon)

I think that synthetic polymers are better than natural polymers.  I have several reasons to believe this.  First, using natural polymers uses the Earth’s natural resources and soon there will be no resources left.  For example when a tree is cut down to make wood it harms the environment, habitats, causes global warming and adds to the greenhouse effect.  Also, the use of chemicals to make a polymer creates jobs, as chemical factories would want employees to run the machines.  However some natural resources are the most important in life.  To decide which option (natural or synthetic) is best, you should use the Life Cycle Assessment.

The factors to consider are:

1. How the material is transported
2. How the material is manufactured
3. How the material is packaged
4. How the material is used
5. How the material is disposed of
6. How the material is supplied

References:

        08/11/06

                                      08/11/06

                12/11/06