Biopolymers and Bioplastics

Synthetic polymers

Synthetic polymers or human-made polymers are those which consist of several repeating structural units known as monomers. Polyethylene is one of the simplest and best known examples of polymers, it has ethene or ethylene as the monomer unit whereas the linear polymer is known as the high density polyethylene. Many polymeric materials have chain-like structures which are similar to polyethylene. The most common uses of polymers of in everyday life are in fabric and textile industries, non stick pans, PVC in pipes and PET bottles that are commonly used. Tyres are manufactured from BUNA rubbers. Polyacrylamide is a water swelling and high molecular weight polymer made from acrylamide monomers. Poly (acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) and its sodium salts (APAM) are widely being used as thickening agent, binder, soil conditioner, filtering properties, flocculating agent, suspending agent, lubrication, and oil recovery agent. One of its biggest uses is waste water treatment. Synthetic polymers have been evolving with new emerging technologies that have taken inspiration from other areas such as biology, such as self healing polymers which heal when damage is done to it which are generally considered irreversible, it is still in development and presents a challenge to produce it in large scale. Other advanced polymers include, nanocomposites and plastic electronics.