Plastics are used in a wide variety of products and have displaced other materials that were previously used for the applications that plastics now dominate such as wood, metal, and glass.
It can be formed into polyesters for use in fabrics and textiles, polyvinylidene chloride for food packaging, and polycarbonates for eyeglasses and compact discs, among thousands of other uses.
The production of plastic requires four basic steps:
- the acquirement of raw material,
- synthesizing a basic polymer,
- ompounding the polymer into a usable fraction, and lastly,
- molding or shaping the plastic.
The production of plastic is quite energy intensive, requiring 62 to 108 mega joules of energy per kilogram based on U.S. efficiency averages. Producing silicon can require up to 235 mega joules per kilogram of material.
Source: Statista