Styrenic polymers encompass a broad range of types from commodity plastics to engineering polymers. Early polystyrenes - whilst having many favourable attributes such as outstanding clarity, high gloss, ease of processability and low cost - suffered from brittleness and poor chemical resistance. Today there exists a variety of new polymers, copolymers and blends that enable styrenic polymers to be used in ever growing and more demanding applications. Styrenic polymers now find widespread use in areas from packaging materials right through to structural components for domestic and automotive applications.

This book serves as the first comprehensive reference to systematically cover the preparation, properties and applications of this important class of polymers. Major end-use consideration of styrenic polymers such as fracture properties, flammability and photodegradation are covered in detail. This book also describes the latest advances from new polymerization technologies to novel polymer architectures. The book is truly international in its scope, with 31 contributions from leading experts in North America, South America, Europe, Japan and Australia.

With over 15 chapters written by The Dow Chemical Company and some five chapters by BASF, this book provides an authoritative and comprehensive treatment by contemporary experts from the leading companies engaged in the commercial manufacture, research and development of styrenic polymers.

The manufacture of polyolefins by metallocene catalysts represents a revolution in the polymer industry. The first, patent for a metallocene catalyst was filed in 1980 but it has been the last five years that have seen a dramatic increase in the volume of research into metallocenes and the maturing of metallocene technology. With contributions from leading experts from the US, Canada, Italy, Scandinavia, Germany and Japan, Metallocene-based Polyolefins gives comprehensive coverage of all areas of metallocene technology: catalyst structure, comonomer incorporation, polymerization mechanisms and conditions, reactor configurations, special properties, rheological and processing behaviour, comparison with conventional polyolefins and fields of application. An essential book for plastics engineers, polymer chemists, physicists, materials scientists and all those working in the plastics manufacturing and processing industries.

With contributions from leading international experts, this essential book gives comprehensive coverage of all areas of metallocene catalysts and metallocene-based polyolefins including details of the very latest developments.
The manufacture of polyolefins by metallocene catalysts represents a revolution in the polymer industry. The last five years in particular have seen a dramatic increase in the volume of research into metallocenes and the maturing of metallocene technology.
The following areas are covered in this comprehensive book: catalyst structure, comonomer incorporation, polymerization mechanisms and conditions, reactor configurations, special properties, comparison with conventional polyolefins, rheological and processing behavior and fields of application.
This is an invaluable book for plastics engineers, polymer chemists, physicists, materials scientists, and all those working in the plastics manufacturing and processing industries.

Geomembranes are flexible polymeric sheets which are used as relatively impermeable liners to contain liquid and vapour. With uses ranging from canal liners to hazard waste landfills, they are used extensively in a range of industries such as water conservation, mining, construction and waste management. "A Guide to Polymeric Geomembranes: A Practical Approach" offers an informed overview of the developments in this field and includes: Detailed discussion of the major geomembrane typesManufacturing methodsKey performance propertiesIndustrial applicationsTesting and chemical resistance of geomembranesFailure analysis methodology

Written by a polymer research specialist with more than fifteen years experience in industry, this practical handbook covers the manufacture, use, installation, durability, lifespan and performance of geomembranes. It covers all the information required to enable the reader to select the most suitable geomembrane material for the job.

This book is a useful reference for engineers and professionals in industry, environmental consultants, polymer and materials scientists, and government agencies and policy makers. It is of particular interest to those designing, commissioning and operating waste management sites, landfills, mine leachate ponds and water containment facilities.

Polyesters are one of the most important class of polymers in use today. Hundreds of polyesters exist although only about a dozen are of commercial significance. Polyesters are ubiquitous materials in modern life and are used in diverse applications from drink bottles and photographic film to shirts and fabrics. This book serves as a comprehensive, up-to-date reference and includes the following sections:

• Historical development

• Polymerization & polycondensation

• Polyester types

• Fibers, compounds and modifying additives

• Depolymerization & degradation

• Liquid crystal polyesters

• Unsaturated polyesters

This work contains more than 20 contributions with experts from both academia and industry from North America, Europe, the Far East and Australia.

An essential book for plastics engineers, polymer chemists, material scientists and those working in the plastics manufacturing and processing industries that deal with polyester resins.

Intended as a practical guide for polymer technologists, engineers and analysts in the plastics, composites and rubber fields, this title describes a range of techniques and strategies for compositional and failure analysis of polymeric materials and products. Numerous examples illustrate the application of analytical methods for solving commonly encountered problems in the polymer industry. The reader is guided towards the most appropriate method of analysis and measurement and the most likely reasons for the failure.

Areas covered include:

• Migration and interaction of additives
• Mechanical stress and stress cracking
• Crazing and fracture
• Residual stress and weld lines
• Contamination and discoloration

The last 25 years have seen the introduction of numerous new fluoropolymers and fluoroelastomers and these developments have widened considerably the scope and applications of fluorine-containing polymers. Modern Fluoropolymers provides an overview of a comprehensive range of commercial fluoropolymers with an emphasis on structure/property behaviour and their diverse fields of application Topics covered include: crystalline and amorphous fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, coatings, sealants, linings, electrical properties, surface properties, effects of radiation, chemical resistance and failure modes of fluoropolymers. With chapters written by experts from industry and academia from North America, Europe, Japan, Australia and Russia, the book is truly international in scope and will be welcomed by researchers, processors and users of all types of fluoropolymers.

Pyrolysis is a recycling technique converting plastic waste into fuels, monomers, or other valuable materials by thermal and catalytic cracking processes. It allows the treatment of mixed, unwashed plastic wastes. For many years research has been carried out on thermally converting waste plastics into useful hydrocarbons liquids such as crude oil and diesel fuel. Recently the technology has matured to the point where commercial plants are now available. Pyrolysis recycling of mixed waste plastics into generator and transportation fuels is seen as the answer for recovering value from unwashed, mixed plastics and achieving their desired diversion from landfill.

This book provides an overview of the science and technology of pyrolysis of waste plastics. It describes the types of plastics that are suitable for pyrolysis recycling, the mechanism of pyrolytic degradation of various plastics, characterization of the pyrolysis products and details of commercially mature pyrolysis technologies. This book also covers co-pyrolysis technology, including: waste plastic/waste oil, waste plastics/coal, and waste plastics/rubber.

The last six years have seen a great shift in plastics recycling from the mechanical recycling of the early nineties towards a more integrated approach in which feedstock recycling and the recovery of incineration energy is encouraged. Based on extensive research of the international recycling industry, this book describes technological advances in polymer recycling from the sorting stage through to recycling processes and end-use applications; provides an overview of state-of-the-art recycling techniques with current and potential applications and draws together and consolidates literature in this rapidly growing field. Due to widespread growing concern over the contribution of plastics to environmental pollution, a book which does all of the above is long overdue. In the US and Europe the recycling of polymers is a major political issue and has become an expanding commercial activity. Dr. Scheirs places significant emphasis on the recycling of automobile tyres, polyurethane foams, carpets, engineering plastics and fibre-reinforced composites, all of which had been previously thought to be hard to recycle.

In the last three years, research into the nature and strength of metallocene-based materials has exploded. This is the first and only book to provide comprehensive coverage of the developments and advances in the field by such major polyolefin companies as Dow, Exxon, and Montell. The authors begin with overviews of metallocene catalysis and metallocene-based polyolefins, then discuss all areas of the technology, from applications to end-products.

Written by experts in the field from both industry and academia, this ten volume set covers significant advances in polymer science over the past decade. Key features are developing areas and new frontiers in polymer science and technology, and emerging fields with strong growth potential for the twenty-first century such as nanotechnology, photopolymers, electro-optic polymers etc. are covered. Additionally, polymer classes in which important new members have appeared in recent years are revisited to provide a comprehensive update.

The books featured in this series have particular emphasis on structure-property relationships of polymers and manufacturing technologies as well as their practical and novel applications. Collectively, the series provides a definitive library of the latest advances in the major polymer families as well as significant new fields of development in polymer science and will serve as an invaluable reference to all polymer scientists and engineers.