Green Plastics: An Introduction to the New Science of Biodegradable Plastics

By E.S. Stevens

Book Overview

Plastics are everywhere. Bags, bank cards, bottles, and even boats can all be made of this celebrated but much-maligned material. Yet most of us know next to nothing about plastics. We do know that they are practical and cheap--but they also represent a huge environmental problem, for they literally take ages to decompose. In this engaging book, E.S. Stevens tells us everything we have always wondered about plastics and of the efforts, in America, Europe, and Asia, to develop a new breed of environmentally friendly plastics. He points to a possible future where plastics will no longer be made of petroleum, but of plants.

The first two chapters assess the increased use of plastics as a relatively new alternative to other materials. The third chapter introduces us to their impact on the environment and strategies for their disposal or recycling. The next two chapters cover basic concepts and terms used in polymer sciences and provide some basic chemistry. With these fundamentals in tow, the author compares how petroleum-based and biological polymers are made, and the various ways in which they decompose. He acquaints readers with the emerging technologies, their commercial viability, and their future. Finally, instructions are given for preparing basic bioplastics using readily available materials.

Nonspecialists will find Green Plastics a concise introduction to this exciting interdisciplinary topic--an introduction otherwise not available. For students it provides easy entry to an area of science with wide appeal and current importance; for teachers, excellent background reading for courses in various sciences. The prospect of depleted fossil fuel supplies, and the potential benefits of bioplastics to the environment and to rural areas that could supply the raw materials, make this book a compelling presentation of a subject whose time has come.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 069104967X
• ISBN13: 9780691049670
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

More than just a "Leafy" subject.

Steven's book was by far the most important resource for my undergraduate thesis. His sentences are well balanced and he introduces the breadth of biodegradable and biobased polymers with flawless clarity and insight. As a chemist he is able to preserve the integrity of the subject, easily skirting between the Organic, Inorganic and Physical branches of the division. His content is chronological and necessary, especially depicting the growth and emergence of this exciting new field from a time belonging to Indigenous tribes in Northern America. His review is reluctant though, to solely cloak itself in scientific respectability, and he is inclusive of the economic considerations for the commercialization of bioplastics. The final formulation, therefore befits a capstone that underscores the fact that what is justified in principle, will not be botched in practice ; a caveat more likely observed than not, in the field of Environmental Chemistry. Excellent Job Stevens.

Ok, could be better with more information on these polymers for industrial folks

Well written in the historical aspect of polymers that can be considered "green"/naturally-derived/biodegradable, but a bit thin on the current biodegradable polymers of industrial interest (PLA, PHBV) and their processing characteristics and properties. Also thin on emerging EU, US, ISO standards on biodegradability.