TYPES OF PLASTIC ADDITIVES

TYPES OF PLASTIC ADDITIVES

TYPES OF PLASTIC ADDITIVES

Plastics are very important materials and they have use in a variety of many products. The products for which plastics are used range from drums, buckets, hose and pens to many other items. Plastic in its raw form is sometimes not completely suited for the purpose for which it has been made. In many situation based on the end product in the minds of the manufacturer, certain materials need to be added to the plastic to make it more suitable for use. Usually the compound to be added to the plastic is usually in very small quantity in other to make the plastic more durable and better suited for a particular purpose.

There are many kinds of additives, which include:

STABILIZERS

Stabilizers are the first and most well known form of plastic additives. Stabilizers function in such a way that the major aim is to prolong the lifetime as well as the shelf life of the plastic. It is common knowledge that a lot of plastics do not degrade easily. It is common knowledge that plastic does not degrade i.e.  get rotten easily.  Stabilizers are added to plastics during their production in very small quantity to make the product non-biodegradable.  The way and manner, which stabilizers work, include the fact that they contain a lot of anti-oxidants and thereby they make it difficult for microbes to act on the material and break it down. A lot of stabilizers also work by absorbing UV light and thereby rendering the microbes in the material inactive. Some of the stabilizers also contain fire retardants. These retardants work in such a way that they reduce the flammability of the material.

FILLERS

These are another type of additives which on the general increase the performance and durability of the product.  Filers also work to fill the pores in plastic and make the plastic very light in weight. This makes the plastic very useful for many purposes. Most fillers are not chemically reactive meaning they are inert in nature. Some of these inert fillers include starch, wood and chalk. Yet, some fillers may be chemically active and such fillers are called reinforcing agents.

PLASTICIDES

These are usually nonvolatile chemical substances which when added to plastic improves the durability and performance of the material. Usually organic polymers are not suitable on their own, but with the help of plasticides they are able to function well in their capacity.

SPECIAL EFFECTS

These are the last kind of additive, which we will discuss in this article. These are different types of chemical substance or nanomaterials or any other substances to impart varied application properties. Desired effect can be varied in many ways such as flame retardant, conduction, anti-staticanti-bacterial, brighteners, strength enhancers, for recycled plastics and so on…

Plastics are very important kind of materials which are very useful and products made from them are used either industrially or for domestic purposes. We work hard to produce the best materials and products that make our clients trust us and keep coming back to us for more.

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