Biopolymers, Natural Polymers And artificial Polymers Explained

Polymers have for lengthy been an integral part of our everyday lives so much in fact that examples is found almost ubiquitously. We are apt to have an impact that leads us to believe that polymers are simply just plastics utilized for packaging, in household objects and for making fibres, however is only the tip of the iceberg.

Polymers are employed in many applications you may not have thought much about. This web site enlightens you about the story behind polymers and how it has evolved since to provide several functions across numerous industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have good thing about the versatility of polymers for years and years in the form of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it had not been before industrial revolution the polymer industry started to realize. Actually, the birth of polymer science might be traced time for the mid-nineteenth century. Inside the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization method that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber into a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland created resin from two common chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The reaction between both of these chemicals paved the way for the development of a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It had been this resin that served as a harbinger to many people of the common polymers we use today. The term “polymer” comes from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which assembled means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are composed of countless chemical units called monomers, which can be gathered into large molecular chains made up of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Judging by their origin, acrylic sheet could be viewed as natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are the type polymers that exist in nature which which can be isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are some types of natural polymers. Though these are processed to obtain the product, because the basic material comes from a natural source, these polymers are known as natural polymers. Natural rubber coming from tree latex is essentially a polymer produced from isoprene units having a portion of impurities within it.
Within this context, biopolymers can also be significant. There exists vast number of biopolymers like polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally manufactured by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes opportinity for enormous prospect of the biotechnological production of biopolymers with tailored properties ideal for high-value medical application like tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, for their name indicates, are synthesized within the laboratory or factory through a compilation of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. From your functional perspective they could be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and artificial fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is certainly one such thermoplastic manufactured by the polymerization of the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is often called acrylic plastic and lends its properties to a various consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is utilized extensively within the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer products that use a constituent element of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, amongst others.
A number of the other synthetic polymers we use within us include Nylons, utilized in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, utilized in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, utilized in pipes.
As a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is satisfied to work with you understand its properties as a synthetic polymer. To learn more, contact us here.
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