What is the process of oil being turned into plastic?
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Oil is made up of molecules called hydrocarbons (they contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms).
Longer molecules can be broken down by a process called “cracking” which creates small molecules, some of which have a smaller hydrogen to carbon ratio (they contain what’s called a carbon-carbon double bond).
Certain molecules (called initiators) can break one of the two bonds in this double bond. They can do this in a variety of ways, one common method is that they have an unpaired electron (they usually hang around in pairs) and these are called “free radicals” and very reactive. When the free radical sees a double bond, it grabs one of the electrons, creating a bond and moving the free radical to the end of the molecule: I* + C=C -> I-C-C*, where the * is the free radical, – is a single bond and = is a double bond).
Because we still have a free radical, the new molecule can react with another double bond, and then another, and another – making a molecule that’s millions of units long: a polymer,
Most of our plastics are these types of polymer (polythene, PVC, polystyrene/styrofoam, rubber, Teflon etc.)
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