The slideshow discusses the potential benefits and the fear of harmful effects by plastics and reinforced plastics.

1. Plastics in Environment
-The Indian Scenario
By
Dr. K. Padmanabhan
Professor
Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering
Sri Perumbudur

2. There were impregnations
There were powers
There was energy below
There was impulse above
The Rig Veda, Existence-10.129.05

3. Point: Plastics are harmful to
plants and soil
• Counter point
• Mulching films ( laid atop the soil)
• Protect tender young seedlings
• Reduce water losses/Evaporation
• Help reduce soil erosion
• Ensure safer and more effective use of
fertilizers

4. Point: Plastics are not recyclable
• Counter point
• They are 100% recyclable via various routes
• Chemically recycled to recover monomer for
reuse,Thermally recycled/incinerated ,
Mechanically recycled several times in to
economically useful products like
footwear,mats,sewer pipes etc

5. In India we already recycle 60%
of plastics from both industry and
urban waste streams vs world
average of 20-25%

6. Point: Plastics deplete precious &
scarce fossil fuel
• Counter point
• They are only 4 % of commercially
produced oil. The rest being accounted by
transport and energy . In fact plastics add
value and extend life of fossil fuel instead
of burning it directly

7. Point: Plastics are toxic and not
safe for usage
• Counter point
• Plastics are used world over safely for
personal care products, packaging of food
and medicine,in-vitro medical applications
and for child care products
• Capsules, medical disposables,blood bags,
heart valve, hip joint, diapers, toothbrush

8. Point: Plastic bags contain TiO2,
Lead and Dyes that cause health
hazards
• Counter point
• Only milky white coloured bags contain
TiO2 via master batch
• TiO2 is harmless-present in
cosmetics,medical tablets, paints and
printing inks besides plastics.
• The use of TiO2 is permitted by BIS for
food contact applications .

9. Point: Plastic burning causes CO
poisoning,endocrinal
damage,hormone
disruption,multiple cancer and
affect human fertility
• Counter point
• Made out of PE which consists of C,H
only. When burnt PE releases CO2and
water.

10. Counter point ( contd..)
• Plastic bags in municipal solid waste
streams improve the calorific value/energy
content for Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) for
incineration- a common practice.
• Burning of PE does not cause any harm
• Plastics are used in controlled release of
drugs for in vivo(oral) formulations

11. Point: Plastics cause acid rain
• Counter point
• Causes of acid rain are thermal power
stations (69%) that emit SO2 and motor
vehicles (29%) that emit nitrogen oxides
• Contribution of plastics is only 0.2 %,
examples are fluorinated and chlorinated
polymers

12. Point: Plastics are not
biodegradable
• Counter point
• Metals, ceramics and papers are also not
biodegradable
• Biodegradation in buried land fills is a very slow
process ( more than 15 years), Anaerobic
conditions/methanogenic bacteria
• R&D on biodegradable applications (eg. starch
based mulching films) in specified areas

13. Bio degradation is not
economically viable for most
applications. More solutions
lie in reuse & recycling into
extended life cycle products.

14. Point: Plastic wastes are eco-
hazardous
• Counter point
• Plastics are crushable and highly compactable,
they occupy less space.
• Plastic wastes are predominantly eco-neutral.
• Plastic wastes contribute to increasing calorific
value of municipal solid waste for incineration ( 8-
20 GJ/T). 30% of energy generation from wastes
is by plastics.

15. Point: Paper and cloth bags are
better alternatives than plastic
bags
• Counterpoint
• Paper and cloth lead to a major penalty on the
economic system. Increase in weight of packaging
~300%, volume of waste ~160%, energy for
production ~ 110% and cost of packing~ 210%.
• There are no eco-viable alternatives to plastics in
modern society.

16. Counter point: Contd…
• Paper is globally fifth largest consumer of
energy. Uses lot of water.
• For 10000 `Hindu’ newspaper copies 20
trees are needed
• Paper cannot be recycled indefinitely;
maximum 4 times
• Recycling is also energy intensive and
requires chemicals for bleaching/deinking

17. Paper and jute impose heavy
burden on environment. Jute
causes bisniosis. If we do not ban
paper and jute, why ban plastics
at all?

18. Point: Plastics deplete resources
• Counter point
• Plastics conserve resources.They are the most
resource efficient packaging materials
• The product to package ratio is many times higher
than metals, glass and paper.
• To pack 500 grams of coffee 12 grams of
plastic,130 grams of tin or 500 grams of glass are
required. Paper is a temporary solution.

19. Point: Plastics are major source
of solid waste problem
• Counter point
• 8% of municipal solid waste (MSW) is
plastics in developed countries. In India it is
less than 4%.
• In spite of low waste volumes industry has
taken initiatives on recycling. Indian
recycling is at 60% which is higher than
world average.

20. Point: Rag pickers find thin
gauge plastic bags unviable
• Counterpoint
• Ministry of Environment and Forests
(MOEF) and industries have increased the
thickness from 5 to 20 µm for adequate
economic incentives.
• Better channeling of waste bags into the
recycling chain

21. Infrastructure and system support
is a must for proper waste
management. Remember, plastics
do not litter but people do.

22. Indian Centre for Plastics in the
Environment
www.icpenviro.org
www.wwfindia.org

23. Plastics in Wind Energy
www.suzlon.com , www.ge.com
Vestas RRB

24. Roads with Plastic Wastes

25. Fuel from Plastic Wastes

26. Fuel from Plastics Waste
• Loading dry waste plastics into the reactor
with the catalyst system, reaction in the
absence of oxygen at 350 °C.
• Random de-polymerization of the wastes.
• Fractional Distillation
• Separation by difference in boiling points
• Very efficient process,70-80% liquid fuel
and the rest are solid and gaseous fuels.

27. Fuel from Plastic Wastes
• 1 litre of fuel produced from 1 kg of plastics
• Recyclable thermoplastics yield is highest
• No deoxins formed as reaction is O2 free.
• No pollution
• A continuous process and cheaper than
fossil petrol. (1 kg of plastics waste costs Rs
5.0 per kg ).
• Prof. Dr. Alka Zadgaonkar of Nagpur.

28. Biodegradable Plastics
• Oxo biodegradability
• Photodegradability, Thermal degradation
• Aerobic degradation
• Anaerobic degradation
• CO2 emission from biodegradation !
• Expensive involving more steps in
production through biological route and
biodegradable additives

29. Green Fibres and Composites
• Tree glues, adhesives and heritage repair
• Good availability of sisal,hemp,flax,ramie,
corn,linen,kenaf,abaca,bamboo,weed,reed and
esparto (all have lignocellulosics) and good
biodegradability and recyclability
• Extraction of heavy metals Cd, Pb, Cu from
metallurgical wastelands
• Biopolymer composites based on starch,
polyhydroxybutyric and polylactic acid
• Car, Aircraft, Railway and truck interiors !

30. Biomedical Plastics
• HEMA for contact lenses
• Medical grade PC, PS and UHMWPE
• PMMA, Methacrylic ester, Bis-GMA in dental
restorative applications
• Hydroxyapatite or HAP ( hydrated calcium
phosphate) a closer substitute for bones
• Inertness and tissue, tendon, ligament growth on
HAP possible !
• Biodegradable sutures !
• Tissue Engineering

31. Biomedical Plastics

32. Plastics in Automobiles
• 70-80 % recycled automobiles are a reality
• ABS, PPO, PPS, PA , PEEK and BMI
• Natural fibres like sisal,hemp and flax used
as reinforcements in plastics for interiors
• All FRP vehicles are a reality with durable
monocoque carbon fibre/plastic chassis.
• Use of Glass and polymer fibres.

33. Plastics in Automobiles

34. Plastics in Microsystems
Packaging
• Eco-friendly plastics-using resins from
soybeans, potato starch and grains.
• IC chips encapsulation, non hermetic
sealing and under fills with eco friendly
plastics
• Lead free solders (Sn-Au, Sn-Ag)
• Recyclable computers and Green PCs !

35. Marine Plastics
• Durability ( Fatigue Resistance), Hygrothermal
Stability, Corrosion Resistance, Fouling
Resistance
• Less cavity and galvanic corrosion
• Osmotic diffusion less from sea water !
• Resistant paints and gel coats
• An all FRP heavy ship will be a reality one day
though FRP boats and smaller ships are already in
existence (eg. HMS Wilton)

36. Design for Environment
• Design for Manufacture, Assembly and DFE
• Composites do not subscribe to DFE philosophy !
• Start from the Drawing Board, Eco-friendly
Designs, 80% of damage is done after 20% design
is over !
• Durability vs Recyclability vs Disposability
• Life Cycle Assessment and Low Energy Impact

37. Plastics Standards and
Regulations
• ISO, ASTM, DIN, BS and BIS
• ASTM’s standards on compostability,
biodegradability, other forms of degradation !
• ISO’s 14000
• Valdez/CERES Principles
• Ministry of Environment and Forests and
ICPE, India.

38. Two Mottos
• Reduce Reuse Recycle
• Reuse Recycle Recover

39. Ulluvathu ellaam uyarvu ullal matrathu
Thallinum thallaamai neerthu
-Thirukkural 60:596