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Tritan, a copolymer offered by the Eastman Chemical Company since 2007, is a transparent plastic intended to replace polycarbonate, because of health concerns about Bisphenol A (BPA). [1] [2] Tritan is a copolymer made from three monomers: dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM), and 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol (CBDO). [3] Tritan (PCTG) is made without using any BPA.
Eastman Tritan cannot be used for hot beverages (like hot water, coffee or tea) and is recommended only for usage temperatures below 60 °C, as it starts to deteriorate at temperatures above 80 °C. [4] [5]
In April 2008, Nalgene announced it would phase out production of its outdoor line of polycarbonate containers containing the chemical bisphenol A. [6] Nalgene now uses Tritan as a replacement for polycarbonate, as it does not contain BPA. [7]
In 2011, a neurobiologist at the University of Texas, George Bittner, published an article claiming most polymers, including Tritan, contained other materials with estrogenic activity. [8]
Eastman Chemical Company sued, and after a jury ruled in Eastman's favor, the Court barred Bittner from making claims about Tritan's oestrogenic activity. [1]
Other manufacturers have developed similar products including the French ARC International's Kwarx since 2006, [9] the German Glaskoch (Leonardo) Teqton since 2009 [10] and the South-Korean SK Chemicals' Ecozen, a glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) since 2010/2011. [11] Other manufacturers propose polypropylene (PP) [12] or methylstyrene (MS) as alternatives to Tritan.
Tritan [13] can also refer to a type of so called unbreakable glass originally developed by the German Schott Zwiesel AG in 2002 together with University of Erlangen–Nuremberg. [14] [15] Its name is derived from titanoxide (titanium oxide in English). In 2012, the Zwiesel Kristallglas AG introduced Tritan Protect. [15] [16] [17] Confusingly, although both are unrelated, Zwiesel Tritan glass and Eastman Tritan copolyester are both advertised as "shatter protected" and are used in the production of drinking glasses as replacements for traditional glasses, despite their different material properties.
Petrochemicals are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as maize, palm fruit or sugar cane.
A thermoplastic, or thermosoftening plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling.
Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily worked, molded, and thermoformed. Because of these properties, polycarbonates find many applications. Polycarbonates do not have a unique resin identification code (RIC) and are identified as "Other", 7 on the RIC list. Products made from polycarbonate can contain the precursor monomer bisphenol A (BPA).
Nalgene is a brand of plastic products developed originally for laboratory use, including items such as jars, bottles, test tubes, and Petri dishes, that were shatterproof and lighter than glass. The properties of plastic products make them suitable for work with many substances in various temperature ranges.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound primarily used in the manufacturing of various plastics. It is a colourless solid which is soluble in most common organic solvents, but has very poor solubility in water. BPA is produced on an industrial scale by the condensation reaction of phenol and acetone. Global production in 2022 was estimated to be in the region of 10 million tonnes.
A water bottle is a container that is used to hold liquids, mainly water, for the purpose of transporting a drink while travelling or while otherwise away from a supply of potable water.
Isosorbide is a bicyclic chemical compound from the group of diols and the oxygen-containing heterocycles, containing two fused furan rings. The starting material for isosorbide is D-sorbitol, which is obtained by catalytic hydrogenation of D-glucose, which is in turn produced by hydrolysis of starch. Isosorbide is discussed as a plant-based platform chemical from which biodegradable derivatives of various functionality can be obtained.
Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include naturally occurring chemicals, such as in plants and insects, as well as synthetics such as polybutyrate. Natural polyesters and a few synthetic ones are biodegradable, but most synthetic polyesters are not. Synthetic polyesters are used extensively in clothing.
Cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) is an amorphous polymer made by several polymer manufacturers. COC is a relatively new class of polymers as compared to commodities such as polypropylene and polyethylene. This newer material is used in a wide variety of applications including packaging films, lenses, vials, displays, and medical devices.
A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed from high-density or low density plastic. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, milk, and ink. The size ranges from very small bottles to large carboys. Consumer blow molded containers often have integral handles or are shaped to facilitate grasping.
Zwiesel Kristallglas AG is a manufacturer of crystal glass located in Zwiesel, Germany.
PBAT is a biodegradable random copolymer, specifically a copolyester of adipic acid, 1,4-butanediol and terephthalic acid. PBAT is produced by many different manufacturers and may be known by the brand names ecoflex, Wango,Ecoworld, Eastar Bio, and Origo-Bi. It is also called poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) and sometimes polybutyrate-adipate-terephthalate or even just "polybutyrate". It is generally marketed as a fully biodegradable alternative to low-density polyethylene, having many similar properties including flexibility and resilience, allowing it to be used for many similar uses such as plastic bags and wraps. The structure is a random-block polymer consisting of butanediol–adipic acid and butanediol-terephthalic acid blocks.
A copolyester is a copolymer synthesized by modification of polyesters, which are combinations of diacids and diols. For example, by introducing other diacids, such as isophthalic acid (IPA), or other diols, such as cyclohexane dimethanol (CHDM) to the polyester polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the material becomes a copolyester due to its comonomer content.
2,2,4,4-Tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol (CBDO) is an aliphatic diol. This diol is produced as a mixture of cis- and trans-isomers, depending on the relative stereochemistry of the hydroxyl groups. It is used as a monomer for the synthesis of polymeric materials, usually as an alternative to bisphenol A (BPA). CBDO is used in the production of tritan copolyester which is used as a BPA-free replacement for polycarbonate.
Bisphenol AF (BPAF) is a fluorinated organic compound that is an analogue of bisphenol A in which the two methyl groups are replaced with trifluoromethyl groups. It exists as a white to light-gray powder.
Cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM) is a mixture of isomeric organic compounds with formula C6H10(CH2OH)2. It is a colorless low-melting solid used in the production of polyester resins. Commercial samples consist of a mixture of cis and trans isomers. It is a di-substituted derivative of cyclohexane and is classified as a diol, meaning that it has two OH functional groups. Commercial CHDM typically has a cis/trans ratio of 30:70.
Tritan may refer to:
Bisphenol A controversy centers on concerns and debates about the biomedical significance of bisphenol A (BPA), which is a precursor to polymers that are used in some consumer products, including some food containers. The concerns began with the hypothesis that BPA is an endocrine disruptor, i.e. it mimics endocrine hormones and thus has the unintended and possibly far-reaching effects on people in physical contact with the chemical.
Jena glass is a shock- and heat-resistant glass used in scientific and technological applications, especially in chemistry.
The methods for sequence analysis of synthetic polymers differ from the sequence analysis of biopolymers. Synthetic polymers are produced by chain-growth or step-growth polymerization and show thereby polydispersity, whereas biopolymers are synthesized by complex template-based mechanisms and are sequence-defined and monodisperse. Synthetic polymers are a mixture of macromolecules of different length and sequence and are analysed via statistical measures.
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