Plastic is a kind of widely used polymer materials, and can be found everywhere in our daily life. Such as the toiletries, dishes, transports stationeries, mattresses, communication tools, computers and stationery, mattress, and the televisions, washing machines, air conditioners and so on. Plastic is a material, hardness of metal, lightness of wood, transparency of the glass, corrosion resistance of ceramic, elasticity and toughness of rubber. It is therefore more widely used in the fields of aerospace, medical equipment, petrochemical, machinery manufacturing, national defense and construction. With excellent performance, plastics replace the traditional steel, wood, paper and cotton gradually to become indispensable in our life, which will be seen in below Ttable
Table: Application of different kinds of plastic products
| Plastic | Contraction | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Polyvinyl chloride | PVC | Toy, bar, pipe, plate, oil-conveying pipe, wire insulation, sealing element |
| Low density polyethylene | LDPE | Packing bag, cable |
| High density polyethylene | HDPE | Packing materials, construction materials, bucket, toy |
| Ethylene-vinyl acetate | EVA | Shoe sole, film, sheet, commodity |
| Chlorinated polyethylene | CPE | Construction materials, pipe, wire insulation, packing materials |
| Polypropylene | PP | Non-woven, packing bag, filament, commodity, toy |
| Chlorinated polypropylene | PPC | Commodity, electrical appliance |
| Polystyrene | PS | Lampshade, plastic shell and cover of instruments, toy |
| High impact polystyrene | HIPS | Commodity, electrical parts, toy |
| Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene | ABS | Shell of electrical appliances, commodity, high-class toy, sports equipment |
| Acrylonitrile-styrene | AS(SAN) | Daily transparent ware, transparent household electrical appliances |
| Acrylic acid-styrene-acrylonitrile | ASA | Outdoor furniture, shell of car side-view mirror |
| Polyformaldehyde | POM | Good wearability, as mechanical gear and bearing |
| Polycarbonate | PC | Transparent parts with high impact, as high strength and impact resistance of component |
| Polytetrafluoroethylene | PTFE | High frequency electronic instruments, insulation parts of radar |
| Polyethylene terephthalate | PET | Bearing, chain, gear, tap |
| Polyamide | PA | Bearing, gear, oil pipe, container, commodity, motor vehicle, chemical, electrical installation |
| Polymethyl methacrylate | PMMA | Transparent decorative material, lampshade, windshield glass, shell of instrument |
| Phenol formaldehyde | PF | Silent gear, bearing, helmet, television, parts of communications equipment |
| Melamine formaldehyde | MF | Food, commodity, component of switch |
| Polyurethane | PU | Shoe sole, chair cushion, bed mattress, artificial leather |
The requirements for the properties of plastic products are different based on different usage conditions. For example, plastic products that are long-term used in outdoor such as artificial turf, construction materials, advertising boxes, circulating boxes, rolling shutters, profiles and plastic auto parts are required colorants to possess the excellent weather resistance and light resistance. Moreover, in these products, color is required to remain stable on exposure full sunlight at least ten years. In addition, colorants should be acid, alkali and solvent resistance for the household cleaning products for the health. The mechanical strength of household appliances should not be reduced after coloring. Colorants are required to have a small impact on the deformation of products in the use of bottle caps and circulating boxes, otherwise it will affect the seal. What is more, the migrations of colorants of all plastic products must not occur during using.
In order to ensure the safety, environmental protection and health, plastic products must obey the law and regulatory of every country and region (especially toys, chemical fiber textile materials, electronic products, food containers, food-contacted materials and automotive materials). Moreover, it is the most important to control the amount of chemicals (colorants) in plastics products. The color preparations should be met the safety requirements of product.
