Since their first industrial use polymers have gained a tremendous success. The two volumes of "Polymers - Opportunities and Risks" elaborate on both their potentials and on the impact on the environment arising from their production and applications. Volume 11 "Polymers - Opportunities and Risks I: General and Environmental Aspects" is dedicated to the basics of the engineering of polymers - always with a view to possible environmental implications. Topics include: materials, processing, designing, surfaces, the utilization phase, recycling, and depositing. Volume 12 "Polymers - Opportunities and Risks II: Sustainability, Product Design and Processing" highlights raw materials and renewable polymers, sustainability, additives for manufacture and processing, melt modification, biodegradation, adhesive technologies, and solar applications. All contributions were written by leading experts with substantial practical experience in their fields. They are an invaluable source of information not only for scientists, but also for environmental managers and decision makers.

Inhalt

Plastics: Classification, Characterization, and Economic Data.- Synthesis (Manufacture, Production) of Plastics.- Properties of Plastics in Structural Components.- Processing (Primary Forming) of Plastics into Structural Components.- Secondary Forming of Plastics Structural Components: Thermoforming.- Opportunities and Risks Involved in Designing Structural Components Made of Polymers.- Opportunities and (in Particular) Risks of Use (Utilization Phase) of Plastic Structural Components.- Plastics and Structural Components: The Environment and Recycling.- Perspectives: Polymer Engineering.