Plastics industry

The plastics industry manufactures polymer materials - commonly called plastics - and offers services in plastics important to a range of industries, including packaging, building and construction, electronics, aerospace, and transportation.

It is part of the chemical industry. In addition, as mineral oil is the major constituent of plastics, it is regarded a part of the petrochemical industry.

Besides plastics production, plastics engineering is an important part of the industrial sector. The latter field is dominated by engineering plastic as raw material because of its better mechanical and/or thermal properties than the more widely used commodity plastics.

Markets

According to PlasticsEurope, the top three markets for plastics are packaging, building and construction and automotive.[1]

Production

Plastics production grows globally. The numbers include thermoplastics and polyurethanes, as well as thermosets, adhesives, coatings and sealants and PP-fibers.[1] Data was gathered by PlasticsEurope (PEMRG) and Consultic.[2]

World plastics production in Mt
year Megatonnes
2002204
2007250
2009257
2011279
2012288
2013299

History

Further information: Timeline of plastic development

Associations

USA

Europe

India

International

Countries and sites

Initiatives

Journals and conferences

See also

External links

References


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