Processors and users of plastics often have to determine the chemical nature of a plastics sample. In contrast to plastics producers, however, they usually lack the specially equipped laboratories and the analytically trained staff for this purpose. The revised edition of this popular book explains various simple low cost ways to identify plastics. It contains updated information on trade names, raw material suppliers, and polymer blends.

The Fourth Edition of Simple Methods for Identification of Plastics is a handy, highly effective practical tool which requires no extensive knowledge of chemistry. The new edition contains many enhancements, such as sections on thermoplastic elastomers, high-temperature resistant thermoplastics, metal-containing stabilizers in PVC, and a brief discussion of more advanced analytical methods such as infrared spectroscopy. It includes the Plastics Identification Table by Hansjurgen Saechtling.

From the Preface: “...The complete identification of a high-molecular weight organic material is a rather complicated and often expensive problem. For many practical needs it is often sufficient to determine to which class of plastics an unknown sample belongs, for example to find out whether the material is a polyolefin or a polyamide. To answer such a question usually one only needs to use simple methods which do not require special chemical expertise...”

Target Audience: Technicians, engineers, and technical service reps who need a guide to simple plastics identification.

Table of Contents:

Plastics and Their Characteristics

General Introduction to the Analysis of Plastics

Screening Tests

Testing for Heteroatoms

Analytical Procedures

Specific Identification Tests

Advanced Analytical Methods

Appendix I: Plastics Identification Table

Appendix II: Chemicals

Appendix III: Laboratory Aids and Equipment

Appendix IV: Guide for Further Reading

Appendix V: Polymer Acronyms

Index