Plastic polymers require greater processing to be recycled than glass or metal materials. Plastics have very low entropy of mixing, which is due to the high molecular weight of their large polymer chains. A macromolecule interacts with its environment along its entire length, so its enthalpy of mixing is quite large in comparison to that of an organic molecule with a similar structure. Heating the plastic alone is not enough to dissolve such a large molecule. And because of this, plastics must often be nearly identical in composition to mix efficiently.

When different types of plastic are melted together, they tend to undergo phase-separation, similar to oil and water, and set in these different layers. The phase boundaries cause structural weakness in the material, and the polymer blends are only useful in limited applications. Another barrier to recycling is the widespread use of dyes and fillers and other additives in plastics. The polymer is too viscous to efficiently remove fillers, and would be damaged by many of the processes that could cheaply remove added dyes.

The use of biodegradable plastics is increasing rapidly. If some of these get mixed in with other plastics during the recycling process, the final product becomes less valuable. Many of these problems can be solved using an elaborate monomer recycling process, in which a condensation polymer undergoes the inverse of the polymerization reaction used to manufacture it. This yields the exact same mix of chemicals that formed the original, which can be purified and used to synthesize new polymer chains of the same type.

Another potential option is the conversion of various polymers into petroleum by a much less precise thermal depolymerization process. This process would be able to accept almost any polymer or mix of polymers, including thermoset materials like vulcanized rubber tires, and biopolymers in feathers and other agricultural waste. Like natural petroleum, the chemicals produced can be made into various fuels and polymers. A pilot plant of this type exists in Missouri, using turkey waste as input material. A new process has recently been developed in which many kinds of plastic tubing can be used as a carbon source in the recycling of scrap steel.

They’re not the only people who are doing this. Many ordinary people from average communities go to great lengths to recycle old aluminum cans and glass bottles. It may look strange to walk alongside the road picking up cans, but you’re helping the environment and earning cold hard cash.

Recycling is one of the easiest things in the world to do. There is a lot of junk to be found in any town or city you live in. By taking a simple walk around the block, you can probably spot an entire shopping cart worth of junk just lying around. Cans are always the most common lying around, but you’ll also see bits of wire, hubcaps, bottles, countless plastic items, etc. (more…)

The first is mill broke, followed by pre-consumer waste, and then post-consumer waste. Mill broke is paper trimmings and other paper scrap leftover from the manufacturing of paper, and is recycled internally in a paper mill.

Pre-consumer waste is material that was discarded prior to consumer use. And post-consumer waste is material discarded after consumer use, such as OM (old magazines), OTD (old telephone directories), and RMP (residential mixed paper). Any paper that is suitable for recycling is referred to as scrap paper.

Over 90% of paper pulp is made from wood, holding paper production accountable for around 35% of felled trees. Recycling of newsprint saves around 1 ton of wood while recycling 1 ton of printing paper saves a little more than 2 tons of wood.

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Until 1600, no one had a word for what Thales had discovered. Then, an English scientist named William Gilbert finally coined the term “electricity” after the Greek word for amber. He wrote about the electrical properties of many substances in his De Magnete, Magneticisique Corporibus. (more…)

Some more common and advanced batteries use only one cell to operate.Some of the more common cell types include galvanic cells, fuel cells, flow cells, electrolytic cells, and voltaic piles. Though archeologists have unearthed batteries from ancient times, Alessandro Volta is credited with creating the first modern battery in 1800.

Since then, batteries of all shapes and sizes have been used. Today’s batteries can be small, powerful, rechargeable, and long-lasting. Using batteries has proven to be an effective way to cut back on energy costs and pollution, and are all-around more convenient than using an electrical outlet.

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The history of oil prices shows that the petroleum industry has been heavily regulated in terms of production and price control, especially in the United States, and throughout the duration of the 20th century, into the 21st.

Before WWII, there was an oversupply of crude oil. This was put to the test when oil was discovered in Texas in the 1930s, and the major oil companies were working together to keep the price up. WWII taught the government the importance of having a safe oil supply. In 1933, Americans paid almost $300,000 to Saudi Arabia’s King Ibn Saud for an oil concession. (more…)

Metals can be recycled indefinitely without losing any of their properties over time. One of the most recycled metals is aluminum. Like most metals we use, aluminum is an ore. The bauxite, a reddish clay-like ore, rich in aluminum compounds, is mined for the metal. The tricky thing about processing the aluminum is that it only exists in combination with other elements, usually oxygen.

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Seven groups of plastic polymers, each of which have specific properties, are used for packaging applications. Each group of polymer can be indentified by the PIC. The PIC appears inside a three-chasing arrow recycling symbol. This symbol indicates whether the plastic can be recycled into new products.

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Many species of animal on the earth are quickly going extinct. And as the world’s most highly-evolved and intelligent animal, it’s up to humans to help these other species’ not only survive, but thrive.

1: The Black Rhino. Since 1970, the Black Rhino population has declined by 90%. Native to southern and eastern Africa, this species of rhino cannot adapt and move to a more peaceful climate. There are less than 3,000 of these beautiful animals left, and they are still being killed by poachers who harvest their horns. The Trade of Rhinos has been banned for over twenty years. But Africa being so vast, these laws are difficult to enforce and Rhino parts are still in great demand.

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Though we do have a plentiful supply of those gases naturally, mankind has fed the supply with the burning of fossil fuels and carbon emissions. There are many ways to describe what’s happening now that global warming is taking place. Some equate its effects to the commonly coined butterfly-effect, where a butterfly flaps its wings in Japan, and a train is derailed in Minnesota.

The polar ice caps melt and cause the water levels to heat up and rise. This phenomenon is known as thermal expansion. The warmer water which is expanding is wiping out coastlines all over the world. And that’s just the start. Economies and ecosystems will also diminish as a result and leave both marine life and human beings in dire straights if the problem goes uncorrected.

While someone in the middle of America may not think global warming is an actual threat, someone who lives on the coastline around the great coral reefs would beg to differ.

One major problem that global warming is having right now is the decreasing fish stocks throughout the ocean.

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