CoP3 Sustainable materials publication content

For this publication i want to create something that rates different materials so a designer can look at it and judge if what they are creating or what they are going to use is sustainable and also if there is any alliterative or show an example of what they could use. 



Different materials 


Plastics 

Plastics are versatile: they offer high strength, low weight and a wide range of vivid colours are relatively affordable. Predominately derived form crude oil, plastics can be recycled at the end of their life, or the energy they contain can be recovered by incineration. There is two main groups of plastics, they are thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. The majority are derived from crude oil. Certain plastics may also be bio based. These products are not always biodegradable and their environmental impact is not necessarily superior to that of conventional plastics if factors such as land and water use are taken into account. 



Bio Based plastics 

Bio based plastics are derived from renewable biomass sources, require less energy to manufacture than petroleum derived plastics and are sometimes compostable. Either starch is used in its raw state, or is further processed by bacterial fermentation to produce bio based monomers, which are polymerized into bioplastics. Bio based plastics are derived from biomass such as maize or potatoes. Their properties can be similar to petroleum derived plastics, but they use 20% to 30% less energy to produce. 



Natural rubber

Latex and rubber are elastomeric: they return to their original shape after stretching. Latex is tapped from rubber trees and is either used for coating or dip molding products such as gloves and balloons, or is further processed into rubber, a high strength elastomer used in tyres and footwear.  




Aluminium Alloys

Aluminium Alloys are lighweight, the same strength can be achieved with roughly half the weight of steel. As a result, they have beocme essential for making the transporation and automotive industries more efficent. The process of extracting aluminium from its ore is very energy intensive and it is much more efficient to reycle.  



Glass

There are several types of glass including soda lime, lead alkali, borosilicate, aluminosilicate and glass ceramic. Each group has its own distincitive properties, which vary according to the manufacturer. In most cases the ingredients are mixed, melted and then formed into finished products in a continuous process. 



Pulp, paper and board
Fresh forest fibres are used in the production of paper and board. Compared to recycled pulp, virgin pulp is lighter, stiffer and of known composition. These characteristics make it preferable for applications that demand high performance and clean composition. High quality, lighweight packaging boards consume fewer, resources, decreases transportation volumes and produce less waste. In additon, using board with high bending stiffness and compressive strength maintains the quality of the packaging through transportation to the consumer.


Plant fibres 

Used to make high qualty and technical textiles for fashion, packaging, upholstery and biocomposites, vegtable cellulosic fibres are natural, renewable and strong. The methods of farming and production are critical to ensuring a positive environmental impact.  Plant fibres, also referred to as vegtable fibres, are compromised mainly of cellulose and derived from seeds or stems of cultivated crops. Hemp is fast grwoing as a high. 




Injection moulding plastics 

Bioplastics are used as a direct replacment for convential petroleum based plastics in this versatile mass production process. There are many types of bio ingredients that are used at different concentration levels, from a small amount to 100%, depending on the requirments of the application. Bio based materials are derived from renewable sources. This uses 20% to 30% less energy and results in up to 85% lower carbon emissions than in the production of petroleum based plastics. They can be compostable or biodegradable, which means they are broken down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass. 



Sourced from: Sustainable materials, processes and production by Rob Thompson



With this information the publication gives a varied example of things that a designer can do to be more sustainable and also shows them things that might not be that good, because its varied it shows products they might not normally use such as different plant fibres for packaging.