A Novel, Simplified Scheme for Plastics Identification

• Mary E. Harris ^[2] ; Barbara Walker ^[1]
  1. [1] Ottumwa Alternative High School, Ottumwa
  2. [2] John Burroughs School, St. Louis, Missouri
• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 87, Nº 2 (February), 2010, págs. 147-149
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In this Activity, students identify samples of seven types of recyclable plastic by using a flowchart scheme. The flowchart procedure includes making density comparisons of the plastic samples in water and alcohol and observing physical changes of plastic samples subjected to boiling water temperatures and exposure to acetone. This scheme is modified from previous published papers to make it accessible to middle schools, where laboratory facilities are likely to be less extensive, as well as to high schools or colleges. Including corn plastic (polylactic acid) in the identification of seven recyclable plastics is new.