r/plastic

I'm an environmental engineer who dedicated his research into all things microplastics, from developing inexpensive fluorescence based methods to science education curriculum (Plastic Panic!). And I want to hear what you're genuinely curious about.

Is there something you've always wondered, but never found a clear answer to? Maybe it's about:

Drinking water

Human health

Food and seafood

Recycling and plastics

Clothing and laundry

Oceans and wildlife

Scientific studies you've seen in the news

Whether a claim you've heard is actually true

Leave your question in the comments. Over the next few weeks, I'll research the evidence, dig into the scientific literature, and answer as many questions as I can in future posts.

No question is too basic or too technical. If you're wondering about it, chances are someone else is too.

Apples later designs eg. iPhone 12 & above, is really annoying to take off without damaging the display, especially later models where the glue require even hotter temperatures, where the temperature risk destroying the pixels. Usually that destruction happens almost instantly without warning.

My thought is to apply a thin layer of thermochromic plastic* over the screen, this would allow me to see the temperatures in real time, without having to faf about with expensive thermal cameras or other solutions.

(*Plastic that changes color depending on temperature, sometimes seen on aquariums as thermometers)

BUT, I have only found low-temperature thermochromic plastic, does anyone know if there exist some such plastic that is decently tuned to the temperatures needed for screen removal?

Or, if some company can custom make a plastic that is tuned to the right temperatures? (bonus points if it's a Swedish company).

Thanks.

Everyone talks about strength, temperature resistance and chemical resistance.

But in real applications, things like processing behaviour, ageing, creep, moisture uptake, surface energy and compatibility can completely change the outcome.

If you had to pick one polymer property that engineers should pay more attention to, what would it be?

And why?

There's a huge amount of discussion around PFAS regulation and alternatives, but I'm interested in what's happening on the ground.

For those working with polymers, coatings, adhesives, films, seals, lubricants or other affected materials:

Are you actively looking for PFAS alternatives yet?

If so, what's proving hardest?

• Performance
• Cost
• Availability
• Processing
• Certification
• Customer acceptance
• Finding a true replacement

Would be really interested to hear what engineers and R&D teams are seeing.

I am not an engineer, just a guy trying to understand. Please be patient if my question seems stupid.

I was looking at the glass transition temps of various filaments I use and I see that the GTT of PA isn't that much more than PLA. In fact it seems more in line with something like PETG. The GTT of ABS on the other hand is high, relatively speaking.

PLA is often criticized for having a low GTT but PA isn't. Why is that? I bought some PA a while back, did a test print which I then held under the hot water tap and the part deformed. I know that the PA melting temp is considerably higher than PLA but deformed is still deformed, right? So what are the benefits of PA. And why is it considered better than even ABS with it's GTT of roughly 20°C more?

TIA

I referring to standard filaments, nothing GF/CF filled.