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Polyethylene was first synthesized by the German chemist Hans von Pechmann, who prepared it by accident in 1898 while investigating diazomethane. [12] [a] [13] [b] When his colleagues Eugen Bamberger and Friedrich Tschirner characterized the white, waxy substance that he had created, they recognized that it contained long −CH 2 − chains and termed it polymethylene.
Polyethylene production uses more than half of the world's ethylene supply. Polyethylene, also called polyethene and polythene , is the world's most widely used plastic. It is primarily used to make films in packaging , carrier bags and trash liners .
Alternatively, plastic can be burned in place of fossil fuels in energy recovery facilities, or biochemically converted into other useful chemicals for industry. [114] In some countries, burning is the dominant form of plastic waste disposal, particularly where landfill diversion policies are in place.
Humans are exposed to toxic chemicals and microplastics at all stages in the plastics life cycle. Microplastics effects on human health are of growing concern and an area of research. The tiny particles known as microplastics (MPs), have been found in various environmental and biological matrices, including air, water, food, and human tissues.
Parkesine, the first member of the Celluloid class of compounds and considered the first man-made plastic, is patented by Alexander Parkes. [4] 1869: John Wesley Hyatt discovers a method to simplify the production of celluloid, making industrial production possible. 1872: PVC was accidentally synthesized in 1872 by German chemist Eugen Baumann ...
Instead of humans being potentially exposed to a dose of toxic chemicals in black plastic utensils near the minimum level that the EPA deems a health risk, it's actually about one-tenth of that ...
They’re in bottled water, human placentas and breast milk. These tiny plastic particles choke wildlife, disrupt ecosystems, and threaten human health – and they are notoriously difficult to ...
Polyethylene glycol (PEG; / ˌ p ɒ l i ˈ ɛ θ əl ˌ iː n ˈ ɡ l aɪ ˌ k ɒ l,-ˈ ɛ θ ɪ l-,-ˌ k ɔː l /) is a polyether compound derived from petroleum with many applications, from industrial manufacturing to medicine. PEG is also known as polyethylene oxide (PEO) or polyoxyethylene (POE), depending on its molecular weight.