How are plastic made?

Answer 1

Petroleum to PlasticsThe technological road from oil field to finished plastic product has numerous fascinating side trips. Here's the route taken in the petroleum-to-plastics process:

1. Petroleum is drilled and transported to a refinery.

2. Crude oil and natural gas are refined into ethane, propane, hundreds of other petrochemical products and, of course, fuel for your car.

3. Ethane and propane are "cracked" into ethylene and propylene, using high-temperature furnaces.

4. Catalyst is combined with ethylene or propylene in a reactor, resulting in "fluff," a powdered material (polymer) resembling laundry detergent.

5. Fluff is combined with additives in a continuous blender.

6. Polymer is fed to an extruder where it is melted.

7. Melted plastic is cooled then fed to a pelletizer that cuts the product into small pellets.

8. Pellets are shipped to customers.

9. Customers manufacture plastic products by using processes such as extrusion, injection molding, blow molding, etc.

Answer 2

Plastics are made from polymers, which are long chains of molecules created through a process called polymerization. This process involves chemically bonding monomer units together to form larger polymer chains. These polymer chains can then be processed and shaped into various plastic products through techniques like extrusion, injection molding, and blow molding.

Answer 3

what is plastic made out of???