Week 5 (Design for Materials)

 

CP5065 Introduction to Chemical Product Design


Design for Materials – Worksheet for Activity

Class

DCHE/2A/01

Group: 1

 

 

Name of material

Recycled PE

 

Chemical Name

Polyethylene

 

General Description

Recycling has become popular in today’s world, especially when it comes to plastic. Instead of using up fossil fuels which are finite sources, recycling plastics are much more efficient. It gives more purpose to these non-biodegradable materials rather than just throwing it out after one use. This benefits the environment as it reduces the carbon footprint when recycling plastic instead of producing new plastic. Such companies that recycle plastic like Parley in particular, collects plastic waste found in oceans and give those plastics a new life. Recently, Parley has collaborated with Adidas to create new functional shoes made from recycled plastic. The process is simple and contains purely just waste plastic, does not require any harmful substances such as binding agents, it simply uses high temperature and pressure to bind those pieces of plastics into one.

 

General Properties

·       Odourless

·       Lightweight

·       Non-carcinogenic

·       Insulator of heat & electricity

·       Versatile

·       Non-corrosive

 

 

 

Opportunities

Recycled PE sheets can be used in a plethora of aspects. It can be used for the food, cosmetics, construction industries and many more due to its versatility. It can be used for food packaging, water bottles, makeup containers, plastic bags, etc.

 

Discuss among the group how this material can be used as a direct replacement to a material in an existing product without any significant changes in the design.

 

Polyethylene can be used as bottle containers for drinks such as fruit juice, beer etc instead of the current material, polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The reason for this change is that when using PET, gases may infiltrate through the PET bottle, which will cause the carbon dioxide (CO2) loss and destroy the taste of the drinks. In addition, the PET may leach into the drinks which is not ideal since beers are meant for consumption, becoming a food and safety hazard. The PET bottles are easy to get cut and split in transportation which is also not wanted. However, polyethylene mitigates these disadvantages PET has. Polyethylene is very safe and are not known to transmit any chemicals into foods or drinks. It is much more durable, so it is longer lasting when exposed to the elements compared to other polymers. Additionally, Polyethylene as HDPE can be recycled into other products, which is more cost effective than manufacturing a new product from new plastic.

 

 

 

 

 

Discuss among the group how this material can be used to enhance the functionality of an existing product through some changes in the design.

 

Recycled polyethylene can act as a casing to products such as mobile phones to make it shock proof to reduce impact when it is accidentally dropped and it could also be used for aesthetics. Furthermore, it can be used to protect phone screens from scratches and shattering. Recycled polyethylene could also be used as a clear shoe guard to make it waterproof in rainy weather while still being able to show the shoes underneath.

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

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