Alexei Volkov
Plastic is notoriously difficult to break down due to its chemical composition. Most plastics are derived from propylene, a simple chemical component of petroleum, which, when heated with a catalyst, forms extremely strong carbon-carbon bonds. These bonds are not accessible to bacteria, which is why plastic does not biodegrade. While some biodegradable plastics are available, they are not widely used due to their high cost and short shelf life. As a result, plastic waste can persist in the environment for hundreds to thousands of years, causing significant harm to the environment and wildlife.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Plastic degradation methods | Photodegradation (UV light), chemical additives, biological techniques, heat, pressure |
| Plastic decomposition time | Plastic bottles: 500-700 years; plastic bags: 1000 years; plastic cup: 50-80 years |
| Plastic composition | Polymers, carbon-carbon bonds, peptide bonds |
| Plastic degradation challenges | Bacteria struggle to digest plastic due to its complex molecular structure and lack of natural occurrence in the environment |
| Plastic alternatives | Biodegradable plastics (HBP, OBP, PHA), bioplastics, plastic from natural organic materials (e.g. corn) |
| Plastic production considerations | Carbon-carbon bonds provide stability and a long shelf life, but are challenging to biodegrade |
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What You'll Learn
Plastic is made from petroleum, an organic material
Plastic is notoriously difficult to break down. The reason for this is that plastic is designed to be chemically inert and physically strong. The most common plastics, polypropylene and polyethylene, are polymers made up of carbon and hydrogen. They do not contain the complex bonds that are necessary for biological processes of degradation.
Plastics are derived from natural, organic materials such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt, and crude oil. Crude oil is a complex mixture of thousands of compounds and needs to be processed before it can be used. The production of plastics begins with the distillation of crude oil in an oil refinery. This separates the heavy crude oil into groups of lighter components, called fractions. Each fraction is a mixture of hydrocarbon chains, which differ in terms of the size and structure of their molecules. One of these fractions, naphtha, is the crucial compound for the production of plastics.
Naphtha is a petrochemical feedstock refined from crude oil and used as a feedstock for petrochemical crackers that produce the basic building blocks for making plastics. These building blocks are called monomers, which are molecules that are the basic units of polymers.
There are two main processes used to produce plastics: polymerisation and polycondensation. Both require specific catalysts. The process of polymerisation involves the creation of long chains of molecules, which are very resistant to breaking.
The difficulty in breaking down plastics has led to the development of biodegradable plastics, which can be made from natural organic materials such as corn or microorganisms.
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Plastic is not organic, so it can't be decomposed
Plastic is a human-made material derived from propylene, a simple chemical component of petroleum, or crude oil. Crude oil is a fossil fuel made from the remains of ancient living organisms, such as algae, bacteria, and plants, which were buried deep underground for millions of years and subjected to heat and pressure.
The process of making plastic involves heating propylene with a catalyst, a substance that speeds up chemical reactions. This causes the individual molecules of propylene to form extremely strong carbon-carbon bonds with each other, resulting in long chains of monomers called polymers. These polymers are what give plastic its physical strength and chemical inertness, making it challenging for natural processes to break them down.
Decomposition is a natural process where organic materials, such as wood, animal carcasses, and paper, are broken down into simpler organic compounds. This process is facilitated by microorganisms that use enzymes to break down and digest polymers in biodegradable materials. However, the carbon-carbon bonds in plastic are not commonly found in nature, so the organisms that decompose organic matter have not evolved to break them down.
While plastic can eventually break down through processes like photodegradation (UV light exposure), it can take hundreds to thousands of years, during which time plastic waste can release harmful chemicals into the soil and water or be ingested by animals, causing environmental damage.
To address this issue, scientists are developing biodegradable plastics made from natural organic materials, such as corn, or bioplastics produced by bacteria. These alternatives are designed to degrade naturally without causing harm to the environment, but they currently face challenges related to cost and stability.
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Plastic is chosen for its strength and chemical inertness
Plastic is a versatile material that can be moulded into an almost infinite variety of shapes, from toys to bottles and wiring to bubble gum. Its versatility, coupled with its strength and chemical inertness, has led to its widespread use across various industries.
Plastics are large molecules called polymers, which are composed of repeating units of shorter carbon-containing compounds called monomers. The specific arrangement of these monomers determines the chemical properties of the resulting plastic. Most plastic is chemically inert, meaning it does not react chemically with other substances. This property makes plastic a suitable material for storing various substances, including alcohol, soap, water, acid, or gasoline, without the container dissolving.
The chemical inertness of plastic also contributes to its durability and resistance to degradation. Plastics that are difficult to break down are chosen for their strength and inertness, especially for applications where these characteristics are beneficial, such as containers, structural components, or flexible parts. These plastics, like glass and aluminium, can last for centuries in landfills.
However, the very properties that make plastic so useful also contribute to its environmental impact. Because plastic doesn't react chemically with most substances, it doesn't decay easily. As a result, plastic disposal poses a significant environmental challenge. While there are biodegradable plastics available, the majority of plastic in landfills, such as polypropylene and polyethylene, do not contain the complex bonds necessary for biological degradation by bacteria or other biological processes.
Despite the challenges of plastic degradation, new technologies are being developed to address this issue. For example, scientists at MIT have created a plastic called 2DPA-1 that is twice as strong as steel while remaining airtight and fully biodegradable. Additionally, biodegradable plastic bags made from natural organic materials like corn are already in use in Israel, and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a biodegradable plastic produced by microorganisms, shows promise in this area.
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Plastic is made of carbon-carbon bonds, which are hard to break
Plastic is a polymer that is made from refining petroleum, an organic material. The process of making plastic changes its structure significantly. Plastics are made of carbon-carbon bonds, which are hard to break due to their inherent strength and complexity.
Carbon-carbon bonds are a result of carbon's valency of four, which means it can pair up with four other electrons from any element of the periodic table to make up chemical bonds. In the case of plastics, carbon pairs with hydrogen. These carbon-carbon bonds are not accessible or "familiar" to bacteria in nature, as plastics are not found in nature. Natural organisms do not recognize the unique structure of these bonds, nor do they know how to break them apart effectively.
The complex structure of plastics, with their intricate and artificial chemical structures, poses a challenge to microorganisms and enzymes that have evolved to break down natural compounds. The carbon-carbon bonds in plastics are strong and resistant to the usual enzymatic attacks bacteria use to break down organic matter. Additionally, plastics often have more stable bonds than naturally occurring compounds, making them more challenging to break down.
The degradation of plastics can involve the emission of dangerous gases, and the process is generally very slow. Under normal conditions, plastic bottles and bags can take hundreds to thousands of years to start breaking down. While biodegradable plastics and methods to accelerate degradation exist, such as using heat, pressure, or biological techniques, the challenge of effectively breaking down carbon-carbon bonds in plastics remains a significant hurdle.
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Plastic can be broken down with UV light, but it takes a long time
Plastic is notoriously difficult to break down. The reason for this is that the chemical bonds in plastic are not accessible to bacteria in nature. These materials are called "xenobiotic".
However, there are some methods to break down plastic, including heat, pressure, chemical additives, and biological techniques. One such biological technique involves using UV light.
Researchers at the University of Bath have discovered that adding sugar units to polymers increases their degradability when exposed to UV radiation. This new technology will help make plastics more degradable in the environment at the end of their life. The researchers noted that many plastics that bear the biodegradable label can only be composted in industrial settings.
UV radiation has a wavelength of 10 nanometres (nm) to 400 nm, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UVC radiation, a subtype of UV radiation with wavelengths below 240 nm, is particularly aggressive and will break apart oxygen molecules to generate ozone. This ozone is also highly reactive and will attack organic materials, including plastics.
However, it is important to note that the degradation of plastics using UV light still takes a long time. While UVC radiation is particularly effective at breaking down plastics, it is also dangerous and can cause harm to the lungs if inhaled.
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Frequently asked questions
Plastic is made from petroleum, which is organic. However, plastic does not break down easily because it is not recognized by the organisms that break down organic matter. The bonds between the molecules are also too strong for bacteria to break down.
Plastic bottles will begin to break down after 500-700 years, and the process is very slow. Plastic bags will only begin to break down after a thousand years.
Yes, there are some biodegradable plastics available in the form of hydro-biodegradable plastics (HBP) and oxo-biodegradable plastics (OBP). These plastics use a catalyst in the material to speed up oxidative degradation. There is also a plastic material called polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), which is made naturally by microorganisms and is more biodegradable.
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