earticle

영어

The feasibility of producing plastic samples from Styrofoam products dissolved in d-limonene oil was determined in order to help solve the problem of the increasing demand for plastic bags and the continuous buildup of Styrofoam wastes that pose severe environmental threats. The plastics were made by dissolving the Styrofoam products in d-limonene at a ratio of 0.37 grams of Styrofoam to 2mL of d-limonene (Bautista, 2002). The solutions were then placed into molds, immersed in glycerol and left to air-dry to produce a plastic-like polymer. The product was then flattened and tested for strength, biodegradability and permeability, in comparison with biodegradable plastics from a local bookstore. Three samples of each type of plastic were subjected to such tests with each test having controlled setups. The weight before the plastic ruptures was taken for the strength test while the initial and final weights were taken for the permeability and biodegradability tests. A t-test for correlated samples was used to compare the two types of plastics. The experimental plastic was found to be comparable to commercially available plastic sheets, in terms of permeability and biodegradability but not in strength.