Polymers in Water Purification

India is a vast nation with a large population- three times the size of the United States but one third of its physical size. It is true that providing drinking water to such a large population is an enormous challenge. Although India has made improvements over the past decades in both the availability and quality of municipal drinking water systems but our large population has severely strained our planned water resources and the result is- rural areas are completely left out and the peri-urban areas get water unfit for drinking

Regardless of improvements in water purification and distribution technologies, water sources are still contaminated with both bio and chemical pollutants. A recent report indicates that over 21% of the country's diseases are water-related. It is estimated that around 40 million Indians are affected by waterborne diseases annually, 1.5 million children are estimated to die of diarrhea alone and 78 million working days are lost due to waterborne diseases each year. The resulting economic burden is estimated at $600 million a year.

One in six people globally live without access to clean drinking water, making this an alarming problem. Drinking water needs to be properly transported in order to avoid wastage and contamination. Over last 50 years, plastic pipes are used to carry water over long distances. Similarly, plastic drippers provide tailored irrigation and distribution channels with plastic lining are used for reducing seepage and to speed up construction. Needless to say, be it packaged drinking water, irrigation drippers, water pipes, water filters, plastics have contributed significantly for providing clean water to the masses.

Water Purification has never been on the high priority list of the Indian Government despite of the fact that the provision of clean drinking water has been given importance in the Constitution of India. It is, however, a major area of focus of the new Government.  There has been a prominent contribution from the plastics industry in the objective of providing clean water. In terms of water quality, water can be cleaned using polymer filters, both at industrial or household level. The latest household water purification systems contain high-performance filter membranes made of polymers which provide ultra filtration and remove viruses and bacteria from dirty surface water without the need for electricity, chemicals or any complex technology. These filter membranes are nothing but Polypropylene based non-woven filters, used as filter cartridges in water purification systems. These polymeric cartridges help in the first stage cleaning of the ground water i.e. the removal of harsh grit particles (sand, gravel, cinder, etc.). The polymer raw material used in manufacturing of these filter cartridges is Ultra High melt flow polypropylene, which is 100% imported making it as a loss proposition for the industry & government respectively.

Indigenous innovations have now resulted in products like NOVIS™ from PLUSS Advanced Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and are being produced in the country.  This product is a low cost, yet effective alternative to otherwise available imported products.  These speciality polymers are used to make the non-woven PP cartridge in the three stage Reverse Osmosis process that one typically sees in a RO filter.

The government has undertaken various programmes to provide safe drinking water to the rural masses. One would argue that the expenditure is huge but it is also true that despite such expenditure lack of safe and secure drinking water continues to be a major hurdle and a national economic burden. Water being a vital resource for human health and an essential input for agriculture, tourism, industry, transport and energy, availability of fresh water could be improved greatly by applying the technological benefits offered by modern polymeric filters.

Plastics Manufacturing in India: Moulding the Path Forward

Plastics have become ubiquitous in our lives despite the controversies surrounding them. It is not possible to think of any area of our lives where plastic in some form or the other is not used. The modern advancements in plastic manufacturing technologies have led to improved plastic manufacturing. Plastic industry is one of the fastest growing industries across the globe. It has witnessed incredible growth over past few decades primarily due to the need to find alternative materials which were easy to process, lighter, more versatile. energy efficient and above all 'cost effective'.

The Indian plastics industry made a promising beginning in 1950’s with the production of polystyrene. Significant progress has been made thereafter and the industry has grown and diversified rapidly. Plastics industry is currently employing about 4 million people across the country. The industry operates more than 30,000 processing units, of which approx. 85% are small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Demand for plastics in India has tripled every decade since seventies. Besides IT, no other industry has grown as rapidly as plastics. This demand includes both commodity plastics like PE, PP, PET, PVC and engineering plastics like PA, PBT, PC, ABS and Polyacetals. Indian plastic industry continues to grow at double digit rate, well ahead of our current GDP growth.

India has achieved great strides in the last few decades and this was made possible because of Advancement in Plastics Manufacturing Technology in the country. It is because of this,  products from the Indian plastics industry are now exporting to more than 150 countries; major trading partners being US, China, UAE, Turkey, Italy, the UK, Indonesia, South Africa, Germany, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Brazil, Singapore, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Nepal and Egypt.

Indian plastics exports have grown at a rate of approx. 12% in 2014-15, compared to the previous financial year. The Plastics Export Promotion Council (PLEXCONCIL) is the apex government body for the promotion of exports by the Indian plastics industry. The members of the council comprise of small, medium & large scale manufacturers and exporters. PLEXCONCIL facilitates exporters through various export promotion activities such as participating in international trade fairs, exploring newer markets, organizing buyer seller meets both in India and overseas.

The latest plastic manufacturing technologies ensures that plastic can be recycled and thus eco-friendly plastics can be created. Over the last few decades, the plastic manufacturing equipments has also changed greatly and for the better only. Instead of using a virgin plastic for a new product, recycled or scrap plastics are regularly being put to use. Integrated computer technology has ensured that plastic factory equipments for manufacturing has become much superior and thus complicated shapes, sizes and designs can easily be manufactured. Molds now have a huge number of uses. Manufacturers who specialize in plastic molding equipment use a variety of molding machines. From the simplest of things to the most complicated like life-saving devices, plastic molding technology is capable of churning out high quality products. Although, plastics generate a lot of controversy, the fact remains, that plastic has permeated every aspect of our lives. With constant developments in plastic manufacturing technologies, it is now much possible to manufacture environmental-friendly reusable plastic products. 

Plastic industry keeps searching new high performance plastics for manufacturing and thus improving the quality of our lives. Some newer trends currently entering the market include:

Smart Polymers: These are a set of polymers which can manipulate their dimensions according to changes in environmental parameters such as amount of light, availability of water, temperature conditions and so on. Smart materials find enormous applications in the medical sector.

Nanocomposites: Performance of plastics is enhanced at the molecular level when nanotechnology combines with plastic engineering. Nanocomposites generally include materials like carbon nanotubes, Nanoclays and Nanotalcs. These materials are characterized by high flame retardancy, electrical conductivity, dimensional stability, along with resistance to heat, scratch and dent. These nanocomposites are frequently used in the aerospace and automotive sector as well as in electronics, military hardware, food packaging and more.

Radio Frequency embedded plastics: A plastic medium embeds a signal generator and can assume various shapes in these types of plastics.  These are used in security system badges, clothing inventory tags, highway toll tags, cargo container seals, hospital patient tracking and many similar industrial applications.

Bioplastics: The world is increasingly becoming aware of the environmental effects of these materials ever since the pioneering advancements being made in this industry. Environmentally friendly plastics are increasingly in demand and find a wide array of applications in medicine, packaging, aerospace,  transportation, telecommunications, automotives & electronics etc. Plastics that decompose with the help of microorganisms like bacteria, popularly known as  organic bio-plastics, have also been introduced on commercial scales.

Advanced Manufacturing Technologies are required for fulfilling these recent trends of the plastic industry. The demand for these newer materials is widespread in the exports market. India has now become the most promising exporter of plastics among developing countries. The domestic plastics industry produces and exports a wide range of raw materials, polyester films, plastic molded extruded goods, laminates, writing instruments, molded/ soft luggage items, packaging, consumer goods, sanitary fittings, PVC leather cloth and sheeting, electrical goods & accessories, laboratory ware, medical /surgical ware, plastic woven sacks, travel ware & accessories  and many similar other products.

Developments in manufacturing technologies have made plastics and particularly plastic packaging an inherent part of our daily life. Plastics find as diverse applications as sterile storage of pharmaceutical & medical goods, enhancing the shelf-life of foodstuffs such as vegetables, fruits & meat and protecting sensitive products from damage. Ironically, current expenditure on R & D for further enhancement of manufacturing technologies is less than one per cent of industry's turnover. It should be understood that only new manufacturing technologies can device solutions for problems like plastic waste management, recycling and development of biopolymers and biodegradable polymers, energy recovery from plastics. Institutions and centers of excellence like CIPET, NITs or IITs shall be provided with advance manufacturing set ups so that research can be done in the field of polymer manufacturing.

Plastic industry simply cannot be ignored in meeting India's development challenges. Plastics owing to their innumerable advantages and applications offer enormous growth potential in view of India's explosive growth and the fast changing lifestyle of its people. Present dynamic new generation will continue the aggressive growth approach with substantial investments in research and innovations to make presence of Indian plastic industry felt in global market.

Sustainability and Plastics in Packaging

PLASTICS IN CONSTRUCTION

Plastics are unarguably the most fascinating materials known to mankind. They are present in almost every sphere of our modern lives- from packaged foods to smart automotives, from electronic gadgets to fabricated houses. After packaging, construction sector is the second highest consumer of plastics across the globe. Construction sector majorly includes buildings, housings & real estate projects. However, the consumption of plastics is not much evident in construction & buildings to the layman. Plastics are used for a wide array of applications including piping, wires & cables, electrical fittings, profiles for doors and windows, roofing, flooring, insulation, railings to list a few besides various other interior and exterior applications. This growing range of applications for plastics is because of their unique advantages viz. great versatility, excellent strength to weight ratio, cost effectiveness, durability, corrosion resistance and low/zero maintenance. Plastics are easily mouldable, do not rot, rust or demand painting, which accounts for their being the potential material of choice throughout this sector.

Plastics pipes is one of the most predominant application of plastics in the construction sector and share the majority of all new pipe installations- well over 50% of the annual tonnage and is still growing. PVC is the most preferred choice of plastics for this application across the globe because of its most favourable balance of properties- light in weight, chemical and water resistant, easy to install, low frictional loss and low on maintenance cost. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Polyethylene are used in making flooring which are less prone to wear and tear and can be cleaned easily.

For green or low energy buildings, Polyurethane is considered to be the best plastics material for insulation due to its closed cell nature. High thermal resistance which promotes temperature consistency is a critical advantage of using rigid polyurethane foam besides its lightweight, chemical resistant, and flame retardant properties. Polyurethane insulation performs as an air barrier, thus resulting in substantial energy savings.

Of late, there has been a significant rise in the use of engineering plastics in the  construction sector. It ranges from speciality applications of electrical fittings and housings using plastics like PC, PBT etc. to non-speciality applications of PC based window frames. Polycarbonate is an engineering plastic and is frequently used to manufacture building windows because of its strong, clear and very light in weight mechanical characteristics. Windows made of polycarbonate materials are considered more burglar-proof than regular glass windows. There is also a growing use of scrap polycarbonate for these applications which is not only a cost effective development but also a environmentally sustainable innovation. The upgradation of scrap PC is done by using speciality additives which enhance mechanical properties at par with virgin polymers and thus do necessary value addition. Apart from polycarbonate, acrylates and vinyl are used for producing window frames.  Acrylates are extremely strong while vinyl is quite durable and inexpensive.

Wood plastic composites (WPC) are one of the recent developments in the field of plastics used for construction sector.  WPC are composite materials made of wood flour or agricultural waste and recycled thermoplastics along with speciality additives. These materials feel just like wood combining advantages of both wood and plastics and are resistant to rot, termite, moisture, warping and crack. As they are made using recycled materials, they are environment friendly products contributing to the LEED points. In buildings and construction industry, they have various applications like decking, railing, fencing, louvers, garden benches, wall cladding, doors and windows etc. Available in different color and finishes, these gives the homes a superior aesthetic look.

WPC mainly serve the high end residential homes and the premium hotel segment. According to a recent report, there are approximately 400,000 high end homes coming up in the top 8 cities of India at a compounded annual growth rate of 2.8%. The division of single family housing and multi-family housing is 3:7. A conservative estimate of the area of WPC in a single family and multi-family housing is approximately 1,000 and 7,000 square feet respectively. The potential market size for the next 5 years is 23-25 million square feet per year. Likewise, the number of luxury and upper scale hotels coming up in the next 5 years in India is approximately 400 with a growth rate of 10%. An estimate of the possible WPC area in a hotel is approximately 5000 square feet. The overall market size is in the range of 350,000-500,000/year.

Also, India has the potential to be a global leader in green buildings by 2020 with over 1 billion square feet of green building foot print.  HDPE, PP and PVC are three most commonly used plastics by the WPC industry. Use of PVC has started decreasing in European countries because of its toxic nature and the trend will follow everywhere soon. It is still being used because of its cost effectiveness over HDPE and PP but the demand of PP based WPC’s is increasing in the country.  WPC is not just a product but a concept of minimizing use of renewable natural resources like wood and using waste plastic waste to generate utility that are crucial to a sustainable future.

Nowadays aluminium composite panels (ACP) are used in constructing modern office buildings. ACP’s are nothing but a sandwich panel having a structure made of three layers: low density polyethylene core inserted in between two relatively thin skin layers of metal, preferably aluminum. The binding of such a system is done by using speciality additives called tie-layer adhesive resins. The positive signs of change in the Indian economy are reflecting significant growth of the office space market across the country and this in turn creating demand for innovative materials like ACP’s and WPC’s.

Continuous innovation in plastics will further encourage use of innovative materials in construction sector. New materials and a range of polymeric composites and glass reinforced plastic materials are continuously being developed to explore their implications for structures. Wood plastic composites with up to 95% recycled material in weight and including construction and demolition waste are already being manufactured for applications like pathways, benches, terraces, sound barrier partitions for railways and highways etc.

Samit Jain, Managing Director at PLUSS, says “Construction sector has, however, a strong tendency towards usage of traditional materials and tried and tested methodologies; but plastics offer immense opportunities for innovation in this sector. The future will see the growth of smart buildings and methods such as prefabrication which will move work away from construction sites and into factories”.

It is true that the future of construction industry in India is a lot dependent on economic condition. The new Government seems dedicated towards development in the infrastructure sector and is doing every effort to accelerate growth in the industry. Increase in demand for housing coupled with new regulations which are intended to make the industry more energy efficient, manage waste, recycle and take life cycle analysis is into consideration as per Govt. commitment to have housing for all by 2022.

PLUSS Advanced Technologies Pvt. Ltd. is working in the area of speciality additives that are helping traditional PVC wires and cables manufacturers to move to environment friendly  halogen free wire compounds that produce low or zero smoke in cases of fires. OPTIM additive from PLUSS is the key towards enabling making of such compounds. PLUSS also pioneered the additive to blend wood waste with plastics waste to create wood plastics composites in India. India today has about 5 to 7 PP based WPC manufacturers and the number is likely to grow. WPC will be a game changing technology in the Indian construction industry – to meet the wood replacement demand in millions of low cost and high end homes likely to come up in the near future.