Sofia Martinez
Plastic is everywhere, from the chairs we sit on to the phones in our pockets. It is a material that can be moulded into any shape and will last for a long time. The development of plastics started with natural materials that exhibited plastic properties, such as horn, tortoiseshell, amber, rubber, and shellac. The word plastic itself originally meant pliable and easily shaped. The first synthetic plastic was made in 1907 by Leo Baekeland, who created Bakelite in a lab in New York. Since then, the creation of plastics has relied on fossil fuels, particularly crude oil, natural gas, and coal. However, the widespread adoption of plastics has led to significant environmental and health concerns due to plastic debris in the oceans and the leaching of chemicals from plastic products. Despite this, plastic remains critical to modern life, and innovators are working on creating more environmentally friendly alternatives.
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What You'll Learn
- The first synthetic plastic was Bakelite, invented in 1907 by Leo Baekeland
- Alexander Parkes invented Parkesine, the first man-made plastic, in 1855
- Plastic is derived from polymers, which are made of long chains of molecules
- Polymers are formed by linking hydrocarbon monomers through chemical polymerisation
- Crude oil, natural gas, and coal are fossil fuels used to make plastic
The first synthetic plastic was Bakelite, invented in 1907 by Leo Baekeland
The creation of the world's first synthetic plastic, Bakelite, is closely linked to the life of its inventor, Leo Hendrik Baekeland, a chemist and entrepreneur born in Ghent, Belgium, in 1863. Baekeland's father was a cobbler, but his mother supported his wish for an education, allowing him to attend a government high school and take night classes in chemistry, mechanics, and photography. His passion for chemistry led him to pursue a doctorate, which he completed with distinction at the University of Ghent in 1884.
In 1889, Baekeland immigrated to the United States, where he joined a photographic firm and soon after started his own company. His first major invention was Velox, a photographic printing paper that could be developed under artificial light. This innovation brought him significant wealth, allowing him to purchase estates in New York and Florida and indulge in his interests, such as travelling through Europe by car with his family.
However, it was in 1907 that Baekeland made his most notable contribution to science with the invention of Bakelite. This discovery marked a pivotal moment in the history of plastics, as it was the first completely synthetic plastic. Baekeland created Bakelite by combining phenol, a common disinfectant, with formaldehyde under high temperature and pressure. This process resulted in a condensation product that formed a thermosetting resin, which was strong, mouldable, and inexpensive to produce.
The versatility and ease of moulding of Bakelite opened up new possibilities for its use in the expanding consumer economy. It was initially conceived as a synthetic substitute for shellac used in electronic insulation. However, its strength and low production cost made it ideal for various manufacturing processes. By 1909, Bakelite was introduced to the general public at a chemical conference, and it soon became a widely used material, setting the stage for the development of synthetic materials that would transform industries and everyday life.
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Alexander Parkes invented Parkesine, the first man-made plastic, in 1855
Plastic is a word that originally meant "pliable and easily shaped". It is now used to refer to a category of materials called polymers, which are made of long chains of molecules. Polymers are found in nature, and humans have been using polymer-based materials for thousands of years. For example, Mesoamericans used natural rubber for balls, bands, and figurines around 1600 BC.
However, the first man-made plastic was invented by Alexander Parkes in 1855 and patented the following year. This plastic, called Parkesine, was manufactured from cellulose (the major component of plant cell walls) treated with nitric acid as a solvent. The output of the process (commonly known as cellulose nitrate or pyroxilin) could be dissolved in alcohol and hardened into a transparent and elastic material that could be molded when heated. Parkesine was the first thermoplastic and an early semi-synthetic plastic based on nitrocellulose. It was exhibited at the 1862 London International Exhibition, where it won a bronze medal for excellence of product.
Parkes was a metallurgist and inventor from Birmingham, England. He was the son of a manufacturer of brass locks and was apprenticed to Messenger and Sons, brass founders of Birmingham. He then worked for George and Henry Elkington, who patented the electroplating process. Parkes took out his first patent in 1841 on a process for electroplating delicate works of art, such as flowers. He also discovered the cold vulcanization process in 1841, a method of waterproofing fabrics using a solution of rubber and carbon disulfide.
Parkes set up The Parkesine Company at Hackney Wick, London, in 1866 for bulk low-cost production. However, the business was not commercially successful, and it closed in 1868. Parkesine was expensive to produce, prone to cracking, and highly flammable. Despite these issues, Parkesine anticipated many of the modern aesthetic and utility uses of plastics and paved the way for the development of celluloid, which became a great commercial success.
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Plastic is derived from polymers, which are made of long chains of molecules
The word "plastic" comes from the Latin "plasticus", meaning ""capable of moulding", and the Greek "plastikos", meaning "fit for moulding". Plastics are derived from polymers, which are made of long chains of molecules. Polymers are themselves derived from the Greek "poly", meaning "many", and "mer", meaning "repeating unit". Thus, a polymer is made from many monomer-repeating units.
Polymers are naturally abundant and can be found in cellulose, the material that makes up the cell walls of plants. Over the last century and a half, humans have learned how to make synthetic polymers, often using the plentiful carbon atoms provided by petroleum and other fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are mainly crude oil, natural gas, and coal, which are themselves formed from the remains of living organisms called plankton.
The process of converting raw materials into plastic involves first extracting the raw materials, which are largely crude oil and natural gas, but also coal. These raw materials are then refined and transformed into useful chemicals, including monomers, which are the basic building blocks of polymers. The monomers are then linked together through polymerisation, which involves chemically bonding them into chains.
The resulting polymers are thick, viscous substances known as resins, which can be processed into plastic products. This process involves adding initiators to start the chain reaction, and then converting the substance into strings, which are then converted into pellets. These pellets are then melted into the final plastic products.
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Polymers are formed by linking hydrocarbon monomers through chemical polymerisation
The word "polymer" means "of many parts", and polymers are made of long chains of molecules. Polymers are abundant in nature. For example, cellulose, which forms the cell walls of plants, is a natural polymer. In the last century and a half, humans have learned to make synthetic polymers, often using carbon atoms from petroleum and other fossil fuels.
Synthetic polymers are made up of long chains of atoms, arranged in repeating units, which are often much longer than those found in nature. The length of these chains and the patterns in which they are arranged make polymers strong, lightweight, and flexible. The process of creating synthetic polymers is called polymerisation.
Polymerisation involves converting light olefin gases (gasoline) such as ethylene, propylene, and butylene (monomers) into higher molecular weight hydrocarbons (polymers). This is done by chemically bonding the monomers into chains. There are two types of polymerisation mechanisms: addition polymerisation and condensation polymerisation.
In addition polymerisation, one monomer connects to another, and this chain continues to grow by adding one monomer at a time. This process is known as chain-growth polymerisation. Common examples of addition polymers are polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride.
Condensation polymerisation involves joining two or more different monomers by removing small molecules such as water. This results in a polymer that is less massive than the individual monomers because not all of the original monomer is incorporated.
The development of plastics accelerated with Charles Goodyear's 1839 discovery of vulcanisation to harden natural rubber. Parkesine, invented by Alexander Parkes in 1855, is considered the first man-made plastic. It was manufactured from cellulose treated with nitric acid. This process could produce a transparent and elastic material that could be moulded when heated.
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Crude oil, natural gas, and coal are fossil fuels used to make plastic
Plastic is derived from fossil fuels, with more than 99% of all plastics being made from materials originating from fossil fuels. The primary fossil fuels used in plastic production are crude oil, natural gas, and coal. Crude oil, or petroleum, is a fossil fuel made from animal and plant matter subjected to intense heat and pressure underground for millions of years. The process of transforming crude oil into plastic is complex. First, the thick, black oil is extracted from underground reserves using drills and pumps. The oil is then transported to refineries via pipelines, where it is heated to between 600 and 750 degrees Fahrenheit and distilled. This distillation separates the heavy crude oil into lighter components called fractions, which are hydrocarbon chains of varying molecular sizes and structures. One of these fractions, naphtha, is crucial for plastic production.
Natural gas is another significant feedstock for plastic production, particularly in the United States. Similar to crude oil, natural gas is a fossil fuel composed of various compounds that must be processed to create plastic. While coal is also utilised in plastic production, it plays a less prominent role compared to crude oil and natural gas.
The production of plastic from these fossil fuels typically involves two main processes: polymerisation and polycondensation. Polymerisation is a critical step, where light olefin gases, such as ethylene, propylene, and butylene (monomers), are converted into higher molecular weight hydrocarbons, known as polymers. These polymers are the foundation of plastic, and their unique characteristics, such as strength, lightweight nature, and flexibility, are determined by the length of their molecular chains and the patterns in which they are arranged.
While fossil fuels have been the predominant source of plastic production, there is a growing interest in developing more sustainable alternatives. Bioplastics, for example, are made from plant crops like corn, beets, or potatoes, offering a more environmentally friendly option.
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Frequently asked questions
Plastic is a term used to describe materials that can be formed and moulded under heat and pressure. They are made from polymers, which are large molecules consisting of a chain of repeating smaller molecules (monomers).
Plastic is made through a process called polymerisation, where monomers are chemically bonded into chains. The most common monomers used in plastic production are ethylene, propylene, and butene, which are derived from fossil fuels such as crude oil, natural gas, and coal.
The first synthetic plastic was invented in 1907 by Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland, who created Bakelite in a lab in New York. However, the development of plastics started with natural materials that exhibited plastic properties, such as shellac and chewing gum.
