Ethene Study Guide

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1. The Structure and properties of Ethene The ethene molecule has a double bond in it, it is an unsaturated molecule. The poly(ethene) molecule has no double bonds, only single. It is a saturated molecule. n [ C2H4 + C2H4 ] ( n [ -CH2-CH2- ] These long chain saturated molecules are very stable and unreactive. The only reaction that some of them do is combustion. Bacteria in the soil find it very difficult to decompose them because of their long straight chains. Nothing eats them as there are no enzymes to digest them in nature. In other words, they do not biodegrade. Plastics make up 10% of household waste. There are three common ways to get rid of waste plastics, 2. Efficient Removal of plastics A polymer…show more content…
LDPE Low density poly(ethene) – squeezy bottles and frozen food bags 5. PP Poly(propene) – medicine bottles, ropes, carpets. 6. PS Polystyrene – cups, CD cases, biros, packaging. 7. Other Made from some other plastic, e.g childrens crockery 5. Composting Plastics What if you could make a plastic that would biodegrade? You could use it too make things like crisp packets or biscuit wrappers, things that get damaged and are difficult to reuse. If you could make a biodegradable plastic bag, you could compost it instead of throwing it away. Scientists used biotechnology to change the genes in potatoes so that they made a plastic instead of starch. The potatoes were harvested, cleaned, chopped up and the plastic extracted. The plastic acted like a normal plastic until it was buried, bacteria in the soil could break it down and rot it away. Consumers didn’t like the feel of the new plastic so it is blended with normal plastics in many items. The potato plastic degrades when the item is used in landfill, leaving tiny pieces of the normal plastic behind instead of a bottle or a crisp packet. Questions. 1. Read the text and give each paragraph a title. 2. Read the text and underline in red the negative things about

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