Changes

==Future of Polymers==

==Future of Polymers==

The base unit for most industrial polymers is ethylene or an alkene [[allotrope]], these in turn are commonly extracted from crude oil either directly (through [[fractional distillation]] or through [[cracking]] of the larger carbon chains. Oil reserves are being depleted, and may last anywhere between 20 and 50 years. Although the petrochemical industry (the market producing polymers) only uses 5% of the fossil fuels extracted it will still be affected by the decreasing supplies, and as such scientists are looking to alternative produces which can be used to produce polymers. The alternative most intensely researched is the possibility of biopolymers, carbon chains obtained from organic sources (eg. trees and plants such as sugarcane). These would have the benefit of being renewable (able to be replaced in a few years, compared to the millions of years needed to reform crude oil), biocompatible (able to be used in the human body, could see new applications of plastics in the medical sector) and biodegradable (a major problem with current plastics is that they don't break down and can remain in landfill for hundreds of thousands of years). However, current biopolymers tend not to be as durable as their industrial counterparts, and they are less economically viable (large areas of land, fertilizer and energy are required to produce and extract the monomer units). That said, with increasing advances in technology biopolymers may become the norm, and new possibilities may open up the the field of polymer chemistry.

The base unit for most industrial polymers is ethylene or an alkene [[allotrope]], these in turn are commonly extracted from crude oil either directly (through [[fractional distillation]] or through [[cracking]] of the larger carbon chains. Oil reserves are being depleted, and may last anywhere between 20 and 50 years. Although the petrochemical industry (the market producing polymers) only uses 5% of the fossil fuels extracted it will still be affected by the decreasing supplies, and as such scientists are looking to alternative produces which can be used to produce polymers. The alternative most intensely researched is the possibility of biopolymers, carbon chains obtained from organic sources (eg. trees and plants such as sugarcane). These would have the benefit of being renewable (able to be replaced in a few years, compared to the millions of years needed to reform crude oil), biocompatible (able to be used in the human body, could see new applications of plastics in the medical sector) and biodegradable (a major problem with current plastics is that they don't break down and can remain in landfill for hundreds of thousands of years). However, current biopolymers tend not to be as durable as their industrial counterparts, and they are less economically viable (large areas of land, fertilizer and energy are required to produce and extract the monomer units). That said, with increasing advances in technology biopolymers may become the norm, and new possibilities may open up the the field of polymer chemistry.

[[Category:Chemistry]]

[[Category:Chemistry]]