Various local and regional impacts of polymer industries on the environment like acidification, littering, municipal solid wastes, smog, etc...

1. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
RELATED TO POLYMER
INDUSTRIES: LOCAL AND
REGIONAL ISSUES
Presented by,
Vishal K. P.
Dept. of PS&RT
CUSAT

2. INTRODUCTION
 WORLD STATUS: Plastic production and disposal
PLASTIC PRODUCTION PLASTIC WASTE
DISPOSAL
100 Million Tons/year
Annual increase in
production : 9%
25 Million Tons/year
Plastic in municipal
solid waste : 11.8%

3. SCENARIO IN INDIA:
 Plastic pollution in India:
• 80% of the thermoplastics, and 20% of the
thermoset plastic wastes are generated in India.
• The use of plastic in India is 3 kg/person per year.
• The total consumption of plastic in India is 4 million
tons and the waste generated is about 2 million
tons.
• About 20% of the municipal solid wastes are
plastics in India.

4. LIFE CYCLE STAGES OF PLASTICS
Manufacture
of plastics
Use of
plastics
Disposal of
plastics
Incineration
Land fill
Recycling
distribution end of life
Leaching of
chemicals
Toxic by-products/waste

5. ACIDIFICATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
 Release of gaseous pollutants such as (SO)x and
(NO)x into atmosphere mainly from burning of fossil
fuels.
 These pollutants causes acid rain.
 Acidified rainfall lowers the pH and hence damages
freshwater ecosystems including inland fisheries.
 Crustaceans are largely affected by the pH change.
 Crop and forest damage by direct acidification and
biotoxicity due to solubilized metals.

6. SMOG
 Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from
solvents, paints and adhesives.
 Formed by the chemical reaction of sunlight, nitrogen
oxides and volatile organic compounds in the
atmosphere
 Solvents used in the polymer industry and in applications
such as paints and adhesive formulations contribute
significantly to urban smog.
 Causes serious health problems such as respiratory
disorders, cancer, Alzheimer’s.
 Local effects like loss of sight.

7. ISSUES RELATED TO SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT
 Municipal solid waste (MSW) in land fills:
 MSW contains 10.7% plastics in it.
 About 57% of MSW is land filled and 16% is
incinerated (waste-to-energy plants).
 Decrease in availability of land fill spaces is an
important issue.
 Using biodegradable plastics can be a solution, but
raises an issue of leaching out chemicals.
 Contamination of potable water supplies by
leachate.

8. ISSUES RELATED TO SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT (CONT.)
 Litter problem:
 Serious aesthetic problem in highly populated
urban areas.
 It is a behavioral problem.
 Improper disposal of plastic and paper packaging
materials by consumers.
 Pollution of the world’s oceans due to at-sea
disposal of plastic waste.
 Wash-up on beaches of improperly disposed
medical waste.

9. ISSUES RELATED TO SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT (CONT.)
 Hazardous emissions from incineration:
 Incineration of MSW allows the recovery of energy
from flue gases formed.
 Hazardous emissions like HCl on burning of PVC
leads to acidification of the environment.
 Dehydrochlorination of PVC is done during its
incineration to control the level of hazardous
emissions.
 PCDD and PCDF are the two most hazardous
gases emitted during incineration of MSW in small
amount, though detrimental to the environment.

10. GLOBAL WARMING
 Increase in surface temperature of earth due to
greenhouse effect.
 Increase in CO2 concentration in atmosphere due
to: burning of fossil fuels, deforestation.
 Increase in concentration of other greenhouse
gases like methane, N2O.
 Consequence:
 Rise in sea level-melting of polar ice caps.
 Health impacts
 Affects natural ecosystems
 Effect on crops-decreased productivity

11. REFERENCES:
 Plastics and the environment-Anthony L. Andrady,
Wiley Interscience, 2003-1st edition.
 Polymers, the environment and sustainable
development-Ian Hamerton; John Wiley and Sons,
2003.