8. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) – It belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. Chemical formula (C5O2H8)n
Poly(methyl methacrylate) plastics contain only carbon and hydrogen and oxygen. Burning it produces only carbon dioxide CO2 and water H2O.
It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite, Astariglas, Lucite, Perclax, and Perspex, among several others (see below). This plastic is often used in sheet form as a lightweight or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. It can also be used as a casting resin, in inks and coatings, and for many other purposes.
Although not a type of familiar silica-based glass, the substance, like many thermoplastics, is often technically classified as a type of glass, in that it is a non-crystalline vitreous substance—hence its occasional historic designation as acrylic glass. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. It was developed in 1928 in several different laboratories by many chemists, such as William Chalmers, Otto Röhm, and Walter Bauer, and first brought to market in 1933 by German Röhm & Haas AG (as of January 2019, part of Evonik Industries) and its partner and former U.S. affiliate Rohm and Haas Company under the trademark Plexiglas.
PMMA is an economical alternative to polycarbonate (PC) when tensile strength, flexural strength, transparency, polishability, and UV tolerance are more important than impact strength, chemical resistance, and heat resistance. Additionally, PMMA does not contain the potentially harmful bisphenol-A subunits found in polycarbonate and is a far better choice for laser cutting. It is often preferred because of its moderate properties, easy handling and processing, and low cost. Non-modified PMMA behaves in a brittle manner when under load, especially under an impact force, and is more prone to scratching than conventional inorganic glass, but modified PMMA is sometimes able to achieve high scratch and impact resistance.
9. Nitrile rubber, also known as nitrile butadiene rubber, NBR, Buna-N, and acrylonitrile butadiene rubber – It is a synthetic rubber derived from acrylonitrile (ACN) = CH2CHCN
and butadiene = (CH2=CH)2.
Burning nitrile rubber (which contains nitrogen) produces nitrogen oxides aside from carbon dioxide and water. Most nitrogen oxides have short half lives in the atmosphere, except for nitrous oxide (N2O).
Summary
To repeat, Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is the only plastic that produces large amounts of dioxins when burned. Some dioxins are manifestly toxic. They contain chlorine, which is presented in PVCs.
So, incinerating PVCs is relatively contraindicated, unless done away from human habitation.
As can be seen above, most plastics contain only carbon and hydrogen, and a bit of nitrogen. Burning them mostly produces only carbon dioxide CO2 and water H2O, and for Polyurethane and Nitrile rubber, a little bit of nitrous oxides.
Lawmakers, please take note! Legalize incinerators and burn those pesky plastics away. (Send comments and suggestions to mabuhibisaya2017@gmail.com)/PN
