Part of Phase 5: Rebuilding Technology
Plastics follow two overview articles, Plastics Manufacturing and Plastics from Scratch, from what a polymer is through making the early plastics, shaping them, and reusing the plastic the old world left behind. The pages say plainly where a settlement’s realistic route lies: salvage, sorting and remelting come before synthesis, and they say where they stop. The three cellulose nitration pages explain the chemistry and the hazard and give no acid proportions, temperatures or procedure, on purpose, because the margin between celluloid and an explosive is narrow.
Polymer Fundamentals, Polymer Basics, Polymer Chemistry, Chain Structure and Thermoplastic vs Thermoset cover the science. Every plastic sorts into one of two families by what heat does to it, and a thermoplastic mistake can be melted and retried while a thermoset mistake cannot.
Early Plastics, Bio-Based Sources, Casein Applications, Celluloid, Camphor as Plasticizer and Celluloid Safety cover the plastics that need no refinery. Casein hardens in formaldehyde and stays out of water, and celluloid burns fiercely, can decompose by itself, and is better salvaged than made.
Cellulose Nitration, Nitrating Mixture and Nitration Process are the deliberate limit. They teach why celluloid mattered and why it was abandoned, and stop short of a recipe.
Bakelite, Phenol Sources, Formaldehyde Production, Synthesis and Molding, Compression Mold and Electrical Insulation cover the thermoset a settlement most wants. Phenol burns without pain at first and is absorbed through skin, and the two plastics articles give different formaldehyde ratios, which the synthesis page reconciles by pointing at the safer one.
Petroleum Cracking, Extrusion, Extruder Design, Extrusion Products, Injection Molding, Mold Design, Molding Process, Compression Molding and Molding Techniques cover making and shaping. Cracking is refinery chemistry, so the realistic feed for an extruder is sorted salvage.
Recycling and Reprocessing, Sorting and Identification, Remelting, Pipes and Containers, Insulation and Tools, Machining Plastics, Buttons, Handles and Hardware and Lacquers and Coatings are what a settlement will actually do. Safety and Quality and Fume Safety close the list. Heated PVC gives hydrogen chloride and PTFE gives an acutely toxic fume, so a plastic must be identified before it is heated, and the traditional burn-and-sniff test is itself the hazard.
Polymer Science
What plastics are, and why the effect of heat sorts them.
- Polymer Fundamentals
- Polymer Basics
- Polymer Chemistry
- Chain Structure
- Thermoplastic vs Thermoset
- Thermoplastics
- Thermosets
Early Plastics And Bio-Based Sources
Plastics a settlement can make without a refinery.
Celluloid And Nitration
The first commercial plastic, its hazards, and a deliberate editorial limit.
- Celluloid (Cellulose Nitrate)
- Cellulose Nitration
- Nitrating Mixture
- Nitration Process
- Camphor as Plasticizer
- Celluloid Safety
Bakelite
The thermoset for insulation, and its toxic feedstocks.
- Bakelite (Phenol-Formaldehyde)
- Phenol Sources
- Formaldehyde Production
- Synthesis and Molding
- Compression Mold
- Electrical Insulation
Extrusion And Molding
Shaping plastic with a die, a mold or a press.
- Extrusion
- Extruder Design
- Extrusion Products
- Injection Molding
- Mold Design
- Molding Process
- Compression Molding
- Molding Techniques
Salvage, Recycling And Everyday Use
What a settlement will mostly do with plastic.
- Recycling and Reprocessing
- Sorting and Identification
- Remelting
- Pipes and Containers
- Insulation and Tools
- Machining Plastics
- Buttons, Handles, and Hardware
- Lacquers and Coatings
Safety And Quality
Fume, fire, toxic feedstock and testing.