pigmentsdhanveen

Plastics - plastic pigments are ubiquitous in our lives today. They're everywhere around us - you can't go anywhere without seeing them. Plastics manufacturing accounts for two-thirds of global demand for PG7; its ubiquity makes it difficult to avoid on any given day! But have you ever really stopped to consider what impact these ubiquitous plastics have on your life? On your health? Have you thought about how they might affect future generations?

How Do We Make These Tiny, Yet Powerful Particles?

If you look around, you’ll notice that most plastic products are coloured. But what exactly is pigment green 7? And why should we care about its byproducts? The manufacturer of Pigment Green 7, a polyester staple fibre, relies on petroleum-based products to create it; its main byproduct is either nonylphenol or nonylphenol ethoxylate. Both these chemicals have been shown to cause reproductive issues in female rats. While no human studies have been conducted with these chemicals, humans are also mammals and experience similar reactions to chemicals as other animals do—albeit with a longer latency period than rats.

Where Else Do We See These Plastics In Our Lives?

Plastics are used for everything from packaging to food storage, but these days we’re not just concerned about where our plastic products come from. We’re also interested in what happens to them after they get tossed out. While plastic is 100% recyclable, it requires a lot of energy to do so, and in some cases, it may still be cheaper to create new plastics than it is to recycle old ones. So when largest manufacturer of phthalocyanine pigments choose between creating new plastics or recycling old ones, what are their priorities? And why should we care about by-products like pigments? The answer lies in how manufacturers make pigments: they take recycled plastics and mix them with other chemicals to create more colourful products.
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