Goal: Scouts will understand how thermoplastics are used in manufacturing and recycling.
Supplies: Polly plastic sticks*, water, something to heat water in, tongs, scissors, colored mica powder*. (*These items are in the Color Your World with Polymer Science kit found at the scout store.)
Activity:
Watch Thermoplastics and Recycling video.
Mold Polly Plastic into different shapes. Add color.
Procedure: Cut the white Polly Plastic sheets provided into squares about 1.5” square. Ask the girls to identify the physical properties of the thermoplastic stick before you put it in the boiling water. (Properties: rigid, smooth, rectangle shape, shiny, matte, etc.).
Using tongs, the troop leader will place the Polly Plastic stick in the heated water. Swish back and forth. The plastic will turn clear when ready to mold. Remove it from the water, letting the hot water drip off, then hand it to the scout to begin molding the plastic. The plastic will not be too hot to handle. Discuss the physical properties of the Polly Plastic after it was heated and how they changed. (Properties: soft, warm, moldable, etc.).
Put the mica powder on a plate. Reheat the plastic and have the girls quickly dip the warm plastic into the mica powder (you need very little). Mix the mica colorant into the plastic while remolding it. Observe how the physical properties are changing. Adding coloring in the form of mineral powder changes some properties of the plastic e.g., making it stiffer or harder to mold. Manufacturers add different things to plastics to change the properties of materials.
Plastics can be divided into two major categories:
Thermosets. Once cooled and hardened, these plastics retain their shapes and cannot return to their original form. They are hard and durable. Thermosets can be used for auto parts, aircraft parts and tires. Examples include polyurethanes, polyesters, epoxy resins and phenolic resins.
Thermoplastics. Less rigid than thermosets, thermoplastics can soften upon heating and return to their original form. They are easily molded and extruded into films, fibers, and packaging. Thermoplastics are 100% recyclable. In ideal situations thermoplastics can be repeatably melted and remolded into new products. This is the foundation of recycling. Examples include polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
A cooked egg is a good thermoset example. After heating an egg, you can cool it or reheat it, but it will never return to its liquid state. It remains solid, just as thermoset polymers do. But if you cool melted cheese, it regains its solid form. Reheat it and it flows again, just like thermoplastics.
Outcome: Students understand that thermoplastics can be reheated and remolded into new products.
Kim McLoughlin Senior Research Engineer, Global Materials Science Braskem
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Kim drives technology programs at Braskem to develop advanced polyolefins with improved recyclability and sustainability. As Principal Investigator on a REMADE-funded collaboration, Kim leads a diverse industry-academic team that is developing a process to recycle elastomers as secondary feedstock. Kim has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cornell. She is an inventor on more than 25 patents and applications for novel polyolefin technologies. Kim is on the Board of Directors of SPE’s Thermoplastic Materials & Foams Division, where she has served as Education Chair and Councilor.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Gamini has a BS and PhD from Purdue University in Materials Engineering and Sustainability. He joined Penn State as a Post Doctorate Scholar in 2020 prior to his professorship appointment. He works closely with PA plastics manufacturers to implement sustainability programs in their plants.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Tom Giovannetti holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Tulsa and for the last 26 years has worked for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. Tom started his plastics career by designing various injection molded products for the chemical industry including explosion proof plugs and receptacles, panel boards and detonation arrestors for 24 inch pipelines. Tom also holds a patent for design of a polyphenylene sulfide sleeve in a nylon coolant cross-over of an air intake manifold and is a Certified Plastic Technologist through the Society of Plastic Engineers. Tom serves on the Oklahoma Section Board as Councilor, is also the past president of the local Oklahoma SPE Section, and as well serves on the SPE Injection Molding Division board.
Joseph Lawrence, Ph.D. Senior Director and Research Professor University of Toledo
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Dr. Joseph Lawrence is a Research Professor and Senior Director of the Polymer Institute and the Center for Materials and Sensor Characterization at the University of Toledo. He is a Chemical Engineer by training and after working in the process industry, he has been engaged in polymers and composites research for 18+ years. In the Polymer Institute he leads research on renewably sourced polymers, plastics recycling, and additive manufacturing. He is also the lead investigator of the Polyesters and Barrier Materials Research Consortium funded by industry. Dr. Lawrence has advised 20 graduate students, mentored 8 staff scientists and several undergraduate students. He is a peer reviewer in several journals, has authored 30+ peer-reviewed publications and serves on the board of the Injection Molding Division of SPE.
Matt Hammernik Northeast Account Manager Hasco America
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Matt Hammernik serves as Hasco America’s Northeast Area Account Manager covering the states Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. He started with Hasco America at the beginning of March 2022. Matt started in the Injection Mold Industry roughly 10 years ago as an estimator quoting injection mold base steel, components and machining. He advanced into outside sales and has been serving molders, mold builders and mold makers for about 7 years.
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