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Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: ScientificBoysClub on 08/04/2009 11:35:56

Title: Is it true plastic can't be destroyed ?
Post by: ScientificBoysClub on 08/04/2009 11:35:56
Well we know that Plastic can't be eliminated once it is created ..
if we burn it ...it creates pollution ... only the thing we can do is recycling it ...
so , Is it true  plastic  can't be destroyed ? [???]
Title: Re: Is it true plastic can't be destroyed ?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 08/04/2009 11:43:52
Where is it being kept?
Title: Re: Is it true plastic can't be destroyed ?
Post by: Don_1 on 08/04/2009 11:57:45
'Immortal' is not a word which can be used in regard of something which is not mortal in the first place.

Quote
mortal

  • adjective 1 subject to death. 2 causing death. 3 (of fear, pain, etc.) intense. 4 (of conflict or an enemy) lasting until death; never to be reconciled. 5 without exception; imaginable: every mortal thing. 6 Christian Theology (of a sin) regarded as depriving the soul of divine grace. Often contrasted with VENIAL.

  • noun a human being.

  — DERIVATIVES mortally adverb.

  — ORIGIN from Latin mors ‘death’.
Oxford English Dictionary.

But I see what you are aiming at, I think, unless you meant to say 'immoral'.

Perhaps you should clarify your question.

Immoral - as in it being immoral to use plastics, or non-degradable - as in everlasting.
Title: Re: Is it true plastic can't be destroyed ?
Post by: ScientificBoysClub on 08/04/2009 11:58:23
Where is it being kept?

no I mean why we can't destroy it ?
Title: Is it true plastic can't be destroyed ?
Post by: ScientificBoysClub on 08/04/2009 12:01:15
'Immortal' is not a word which can be used in regard of something which is not mortal in the first place.

Quote
mortal



  • adjective 1 subject to death. 2 causing death. 3 (of fear, pain, etc.) intense. 4 (of conflict or an enemy) lasting until death; never to be reconciled. 5 without exception; imaginable: every mortal thing. 6 Christian Theology (of a sin) regarded as depriving the soul of divine grace. Often contrasted with VENIAL.

  • noun a human being.

  — DERIVATIVES mortally adverb.

  — ORIGIN from Latin mors ‘death’.
Oxford English Dictionary.

But I see what you are aiming at, I think, unless you meant to say 'immoral'.

Perhaps you should clarify your question.

Immoral - as in it being immoral to use plastics, or non-degradable - as in everlasting.
Thanks for correction
Title: Is it true plastic can't be destroyed ?
Post by: Bored chemist on 08/04/2009 20:07:39
It's perfectly possible to burn most plastics without generating any significant polution- no more of a problem than burning wood, for example.
For the plastics that contain chlorine- PVC is the obvious example, the easy way to destroy it is to burn it, but you need to remember to scrub the HCl out of the flue gases. Since the HCl is a potentially valuable product tis too isn't a problem.
There's no sensible way in which the disposal of plastics is more fifficult than for example, disposing of deap bodies or concrete or lots of other things.

Incidentally, I think describing plastics as "immortal" is linguistcally permissible hyperbole- but it isn't actually true. If someone said that mercury (and, just to be clear, I mean the liquid metal, not the Roman God) was immortal, they might have a fair point. No matter what you do to mercury it's still more or less poisonous. Incinnerating it  will just spread it about. Reacting it with things just turns it into compounds that are still toxic.
Title: Is it true plastic can't be destroyed ?
Post by: Raghavendra on 09/04/2009 08:25:00
 we can destroy, we should have some catalyst to break the chain....... and to fuse the carbon.

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