Chapter 1 Polymers in Modern Life, 1, 
Chapter 2 Environmental Impact of Polymers, 19, 
Chapter 3 Environmental Stability of Polymers, 38, 
Chapter 4 Management of Polymer Wastes, 68, 
Chapter 5 Biodegradable Polymers, 93, 
Subject Index, 126,

CHAPTER 1

Polymers in Modern Life

WHAT ARE POLYMERS?

Polymers are natural or man-made molecules, frequently called macro-molecules. They are composed of smaller units, monomers, which have reacted together to give a long chain, rather like a string of beads. In the simplest polymers, the monomers are identical and the polymer is named by prefixing 'poly' to the name of the monomer from which it is derived. Thus the polymer from ethylene is poly(ethylene), although in common usage the brackets are omitted. The monomers that constitute a polymer may be the same in which case they are called homopolymers or they may contain more than one monomer in which case they are copolymers. Additional monomers in a polymer may be randomly copolymerised to give random copolymers or may be polymerised in alternating blocks of identical monomers forming block copolymers.

-M-M-M-M- -M-N-N-M-N-M- -M-M-M-N-N-N-
Homopolymer Random copolymer Block copolymer

Some polymers contain chemical bonds or cross-links between the long chains. Cross-links may be introduced during the synthesis of the polymer as is the case in the thermosetting polymers, which include the well known phenol-formaldehyde resins, but they may also be introduced into an existing polymer by a chemical reaction. This method of making cross- linked polymers is used in the process of rubber vulcanisation or sulfur cross-linking which was one of the earliest chemical reactions carried out on a naturally occurring polymer [cis-poly(isoprene)] obtained from the latex of the tree Hevea braziliensis. Many other polymeric materials are found in living organisms. The most common are the polysaccharides, which include starch, the food store of seeds, and cellulose, the structural material of plants. A second important group are the polymerisation products of amino acids, the polypeptides, of which the proteins are widely distributed in living organisms. In the polypeptides the sequence of monomer units is much more complex than in the case of man-made polymers and the order in which the monomers are put together changes their nature and biological function.

-A1-A2-A3- where A1, A2, etc.
A4A5- are different amino acids
Polypeptide

Thus muscle, collagen (in bone), keratin (in hair, nails and beaks) and albumin are all copolymers of very similar amino acids but have quite different physical properties. In deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the genetic template, the sequence of monomers is precise and variations are the cause of genetic mutations. Although the polypeptides are of ultimate importance in life processes they are not important in the context of materials and will not be considered further in this book. However, they have had a significant impact on modern polymer science since the synthesis of the first man-made poly amide fibre, Nylon, by Carothers was modelled on the structure of a silk, a naturally occurring polypeptide.

NATURAL POLYMERS

Cellulose

The most easily recognised natural polymer is cellulose, the most abundant organic polymer on earth. It consists of glucose units and is the major component of wood although it is also found in the stems and leaves of many plants. Cotton is a particularly pure form of cellulose.

In woody materials, the long crystalline fibrils of cellulose are bound into a composite structure by lignin, a macromolecule based on polyphenols. Lignin, which is present to the extent of 25–30% in most woods, is a cross-linked polymer rather similar to man-made phenol–formaldehyde resins and may be looked upon as a 'glue' which gives wood its permanent form (Figure 1.1).

The overall effect is a very strong material that can bear enormous tensions and bending stresses without breaking. However, as every cricketer knows, wood can break under violent impact. This is because it is weakest along the direction of the fibres and the lignin which is a weaker polymer delaminates (separates) between the cellulose fibres. It is an interesting tribute to the evolution of natural materials that since the discovery of the synthetic polymers, man has employed the same principle of orientated fibre (glass or carbon) reinforcement in the manufacture of polymer composites with a strength (in the fibre direction) similar to that of steel.

Pure cellulose biodegrades relatively rapidly in the natural environment. Nature's abundant cellulosic litter in the form of leaves, grass, plant stems, etc. is bioassimilated in one season to give useful biomass. Branches and tree trunks take much longer to biodegrade and it is not always appreciated that, in some parts of the world, tree trunks and branches on the sea-shore present a much more significant litter problem than most of the commodity plastics. It may take decades and in some cases centuries for some fallen trees to disintegrate and biodegrade in the natural environment whereas a polyethylene container in the same situation would disappear due to photo-biodegradation in as many years. The situation may be quite different inside a forest environment, which is much more conducive to biological attack. Both cellulose and lignin biodegrade; the former much more rapidly than the latter by enzyme-catalysed hydrolytic depolymerisation of cellulose to its constituent sugars, which are assimilated by the cell. This process begins with the attachment of microflora to the hydrophilic (water-loving) surface of the tree trunk and the death of the microorganisms in t urn provides humus for the growth of seedlings which eventually cannibalise the dead trunk. Polyethylene which is a hydrophobic polymer (that is it repels water) cannot undergo biodegradation unless it is modified by abiotic peroxidation. Sunlight catalyses this process and the rate-controlling process in the natural environment is photooxidation. This will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 5.

Wood-pulp cellulose is the basis of paper manufacture. The process involves separating the cellulose fibre from the resinous component of wood by treatment with alkali and carbon disulfide, an environmentally polluting process (Chapters 2, 5). Papermaking has been strongly criticised in recent years by ecologists due to the rapid depletion of the forests and this has resulted in an increase in recycling of used paper.

Cellulose fibres are crystalline and very strong materials when they are dry. However, they are hydrophilic and in the presence of moisture they absorb water, becoming permeable by microorganisms. For this reason paper became much less important as a food packaging material when the cheap hydrophobic synthetic polymers emerged in the second half of the 20th century.

The hydrophilic nature of cellulose is due to the high concentration of hydroxyl groups in the molecule. In the absence of water this gives rise to the association of the long molecules by hydrogen bonding. These 'cross-links' are weak compared to the valency bonds that hold together...

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Zahlungsarten

Shopbeschreibung

**Please note our transit times are from the date of dispatch.** We first started out as “The Paperback Exchange,” a chain of physical bookstores where we would part exchange your beloved books for new stories to transport you to faraway places. However, as shopping started to evolve to online shops and marketplaces, we bid our stores goodbye to become “PBShop.” This transition has only allowed us to blossom as we now ship thousands of titles to book lovers across the globe. We pride ourselves in being a community of local book lovers which allows our passion and devotion to shine in everything we do. In 2020 we not only celebrated our 20th birthday but our 1st birthday as being completely employee owned after becoming an E.O.T in September 2019. We are proud to be different and embrace standing apart on a book mountain by working from a virtual inventory which allows us to provide thousands of books that may be difficult to get for your bookshelf or your studies. Working with a number of different suppliers allows us to explore other avenues such as puzzles, sheet music and even stationery so we really do have something for everyone. Life is about being versatile in all realms of existence. If this is your first purchase with us, or you are a returning customer, we would like to welcome you to the PBShop family, for there is no friend as loyal as a book. We are a company who put our customers at the centre of everything we do as we understand the importance of reading because once you learn to read, you will forever be free. There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours that we are yet to explore, which is why we will forever inspire curious minds.…

Spezialisierung

Hardbacks, Paperbacks

Unternehmensdaten der Verkäuferin bzw. des Verkäufers

Pbshop.co.uk

Unit 22 Horcott Industrial Estate, Horcott Road
Fairford, Vereinigtes Königreich GL7 4BX

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Verkaufsbedingungen

Returns Policy
We ask all customers to contact us for authorisation should they wish to return their order. Orders returned without authorisation may not be credited.
If you wish to return, please contact us within 14 days of receiving your order to obtain authorisation.
Returns requested beyond this time will not be authorised.
Our team will provide full instructions on how to return your order and once received our returns department will process your refund.
Please note the cost to return any unwanted order to us is borne by the buyer.
Should your order arrive damaged, not as advertised or faulty, we must be advised of this within 14 days of delivery. Please contact us so we can find the best solution for you.

Our Customer Care Team can be contacted by emailing alborders@paperbackshop.co.uk, or by calling our UK Office on +441285 712 917. We are available 9:00am till 5:30pm GMT Monday to Friday.

Widerrufsrecht

Wenn Sie Verbraucher sind, können Sie gemäß den folgenden Bestimmungen vom Vertrag zurücktreten. Verbraucher ist jede natürliche Person, die zu Zwecken handelt, die nicht ihrer kaufmännischen, gewerblichen, künstlerischen oder beruflichen Tätigkeit zugerechnet werden können.

Informationen zum Widerrufsrecht

Gesetzliches Widerrufsrecht

Sie haben das Recht, den Vertrag innerhalb von 14 Tagen ohne Angabe von Gründen zu widerrufen.

Die Widerrufsfrist beträgt 14 Tage ab dem Tag, an dem Sie oder ein von Ihnen benannter Dritter, der nicht der Transporteur ist, die letzte Ware oder den letzten Posten oder das letzte Exemplar in Besitz genommen hat.

Um das Widerrufsrecht auszuüben, füllen Sie auf unserer Website unter „Meine Einkäufe" in „Mein Nutzerkonto" eine eindeutige Erklärung elektronisch aus und senden Sie sie ab. Wir werden Ihnen unverzüglich eine Bestätigung über den Eingang eines solchen Widerrufs auf einem dauerhaften Datenträger (z. B. per E-Mail) übermitteln.

Um die Widerrufsfrist einzuhalten, reicht es aus, dass Sie Ihre Mitteilung über die Ausübung des Widerrufsrechts vor Ablauf der Widerrufsfrist absenden.

Auswirkungen des Widerrufs

Wenn Sie diesen Vertrag widerrufen, erstatten wir Ihnen alle Zahlungen, die wir von Ihnen erhalten haben, einschließlich der Lieferkosten (mit Ausnahme der zusätzlichen Kosten, die entstehen, wenn Sie eine andere Art der Lieferung als die von uns angebotene günstigste Standardlieferung gewählt haben).

Wir können einen Abzug von der Rückerstattung für den Wertverlust der gelieferten Waren vornehmen, wenn der Verlust auf eine unnötige Behandlung durch Sie zurückzuführen ist.

Wir werden die Rückerstattung unverzüglich und nicht später als 14 Tage nach dem Tag vornehmen, an dem wir über Ihre Entscheidung, diesen Vertrag zu widerrufen, informiert wurden.

Für die Rückerstattung verwenden wir dasselbe Zahlungsmittel, das Sie für die ursprüngliche Transaktion verwendet haben, es sei denn, Sie haben ausdrücklich etwas anderes vereinbart; in keinem Fall werden Ihnen aufgrund einer solchen Rückerstattung Gebühren berechnet.

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Sie müssen die Waren unverzüglich und in jedem Fall spätestens 14 Tage ab dem Tag, an dem Sie uns über den Widerruf dieses Vertrags unterrichten, an PBShop.store UK, Fairford, United Kingdom, +44 1285 712917, zurücksenden oder übergeben. Die Frist ist eingehalten, wenn Sie die Ware vor Ablauf der Frist von 14 Tagen zurücksenden. Sie müssen die direkten Kosten der Rücksendung der Waren tragen. Sie haften nur für einen etwaigen Wertverlust der Waren, der auf eine Behandlung zurückzuführen ist, die nicht zur Prüfung der Art, Eigenschaften und Funktionsweise der Waren erforderlich ist.

Ausnahmen vom Widerrufsrecht

Das Widerrufsrecht gilt nicht für:

Die Lieferung von Zeitungen, Zeitschriften oder Magazinen mit Ausnahme von Abonnementverträgen; und
Die Lieferung digitaler Inhalte, die nicht auf einem physischen Medium (z. B. auf einer CD oder DVD) geliefert werden, wenn Sie bei Ihrer Bestellung akzeptiert haben, dass wir mit der Lieferung beginnen können und dass Sie nach Beginn der Lieferung den Vertrag nicht mehr widerrufen können.

Versandbedingungen

Orders are shipped from our UK warehouse. Delivery thereafter is between 4 and 14 business days. Please contact us if you have any queries about our services or products.

Datenschutz und Sicherheit

We are committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal data. This policy tells you how we will collect and use your personal data, and what you should expect in respect of the personal information about you that we have collected.

We are PBShop.co.uk Limited (registered in England & Wales with Company No: 9366362). Our registered office is at Swatton Barn, Badbury, Swindon, SN4 0EU, United Kingdom.

The person with responsibility for our data protection compliance is the Managing Director and they can be contacted via email at help@pbshop.store.

We are the data controller of the personal data that we keep and use, and we are therefore responsible for making sure that our systems, processes and people comply with the relevant data protection laws in respect of that personal data.

We will act in respect of personal data to comply with the six principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which are:

Lawfulness, fairness and transparency;
Purpose limitation;
Data minimisation;
Accuracy;
Storage limitation;
Integrity and confidentiality.
You have rights in respect of how your personal data can be processed; these include the right to request:

a copy of your personal data;
that inaccurate data is rectified; and
that your personal data is, in certain circumstances, erased or restricted.
You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner, which you can do by contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) directly. Full contact details, including a helpline number, can be found on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk). This website also has useful information on your rights and our obligations. However, please raise any concerns or issues with us first so that we may deal with this as quickly as possible for you.

COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL DATA
We collect and process data for the following reasons:

personal data collected and created in relation to our selling books and other items; and
personal data relating to our people (which means those people working for our company, or providing services to us, or potentially working or providing services to us, including employees, consultants, temporary or casual workers and contractors).
All of our people are required to abide by our Privacy Policy when handling personal data, and are provided with appropriate data protection training. Any breach of data protection will be taken seriously, and may result in disciplinary action.

Selling books and other items
COLLECTION:
We will collect personal information which may include names, addresses and other information for our customers. This will be done for the management of the commercial relationship with our customers.

We may collect this personal data from you directly, and also from third parties, including publicly available third party sources. Additional personal data will be collected as it is created by or supplied to us in the course of anything we do for you.

USE:
We will use the personal data in the course of making sales and to comply with requirements that we are required to undertake.

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

in performance of a contract (the agreement to sell books and other items); and/or
compliance with a legal obligation; and/or
vital interests of the data subject; and/or
where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
We may also use your personal data in the following situations, which are likely to be far less common:

where we need to protect your interests (or someone else’s interests);
where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes.
DISCLOSURE:
We may share personal data with third parties as is necessary in the sale of books and other items, including to third party providers who deliver services to support the operation of our company.

In respect of all disclosures of personal data, we will only share the personal information which is necessary for the particular purpose for which it is provided, or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so, and we will ensure that the personal data is appropriately protected.

RETENTION PERIOD:
We will keep personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements. Normally, our retention period for personal data collected for this purpose is a minimum of 6 years after the end of the period that we are selling books and other items.

Our people
COLLECTION:
We will collect names, addresses, contact details, education and employment history, identity and other background checks (which may include appropriate criminal and financial checks and confirmation of the right to work in the UK), marital status and information on next of kin and dependents, financial information (such as bank details and NI numbers), date of birth, gender, a copy of your passport and driving licence, performance information and compensation history, recruitment information (including references), salary, benefits, pension and annual leave information, disciplinary and grievance information, photographs, information about your use of our information and communications systems and CCTV footage or other information obtained through electronic means.

We may collect and use special categories of personal data as required in the carrying out of obligations and exercising specific rights of us or the data subject in the field of employment. This may include information relating to matters such as health, racial origin, religious belief and offences or alleged offences.

Personal data may be collected from you during the selection process (for example via your application form and CV) and during your employment (including holiday forms, expense claims, performance reviews, any disciplinary or grievance processes), or from third parties, including referees, health service providers, background check providers.

USE:
Personal data of our people will be used for HR administration and management, both in respect of the selection of people to work for us (including suitability, eligibility and/or fitness to work), and those who do work for us, to include learning and development, disciplinary and security (of people, offices and data) requirements, providing and liaising with benefits providers, business management and planning (including accounting and auditing), paying you and dealing with tax and NI deductions, assessing and deciding on salary reviews and compensation, conducting performance reviews and managing performance, dealing with legal disputes involving you or others, preventing fraud, monitoring your use of our information and communications systems, ensuring compliance with our policies, and equal opportunities monitoring.

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

In performance of a contract with you; and/or
compliance with a legal obligation; and/or
vital interests of the data subject; and/or
where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
We may also use your personal data in the following situations, which are likely to be less common:

where we need to protect your interests (or someone else’s interests);
where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes.
In respect of all disclosures of personal data, we will only share the personal information which is necessary for the particular purpose for which it is provided, or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so, and we will ensure that the personal data is appropriately protected.

In respect of special categories of personal data, we may process this in the following circumstances:

in limited circumstances with your explicit written consent; and/or
where we need to carry out our legal obligations and in line with our policies; and/or
where it is needed in the public interest (such as for equal opportunities monitoring or in relation to our occupational pension scheme), and in line with our policies; and/or
where it is needed to assess your working capacity on health grounds, subject to appropriate confidentiality safeguards.
Less commonly, we may process this type of information where it is needed in relation to legal claims or where it is needed to protect your (or someone else’s) interests and you are not capable of giving your consent, or where you have already made the information public. We may also process such information about our people (or former people) in the course of our legitimate business activities with the appropriate safeguards.

The special categories of personal data may be used in the following ways:

in relation to leaves of absence, to comply with employment and other laws;
in relation to your physical or mental health, or disability status, to ensure your health and safety in the workplace and to assess your fitness to work, to monitor, manage and administer benefits and absences;
in relation to your race, national or ethnic origin, religious, philosophical or moral beliefs, or your sexual life or sexual orientation, to ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting.
DISCLOSURE:
Personal data may be transferred to service providers who support the operation of our business (such as payroll service providers), to other third parties reasonably necessary in the conduct of our business (including insurers, professional advisors, regulators). These third parties may be acting as processor, or controller of personal data in their own right.

RETENTION PERIOD:
We will keep personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements. We will normally keep personal data of applicants who we do not employ for six months after we receive it.

We will keep personal data of employees throughout your employment and normally for a minimum of six years after your employment ends.

Changes to your personal data
It is very important that the personal information that we hold about you is accurate and current. Please tell us if your personal information changes during your relationship with us.

Data Security
We have put in place measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those of our people and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and where they have agreed to treat the information confidentially and to keep it secure. We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and the ICO of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

Where we store your personal data
We principally store data, both electronically and on file, at our office.

Personal data may be transferred outside of the EEA by processors acting on our behalf. For transfers to countries not considered adequate by the EC, we will ensure that personal data is adequately protected, as required by the GDPR. This would include by use of the Standard Contractual Clauses adopted by the EC to protect personal data.

Your rights
Under certain circumstances, you have the right by law to request:

access to your personal data. This enables you to ask to receive a copy of the personal data that we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
correction of the personal data that we hold about you.
erasure of your personal data.
object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on our legitimate interest and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes.
restriction of processing of your personal data.
transfer of your personal data to another party.
Links from our website
Our website may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of third parties that we permit to make such links. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. We recommend that you check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on our website, so please ensure that you are viewing the correct version.

Please contact us if you have any questions, comments or requests regarding this Privacy Policy.

Last amended May 2021.

Polymers and the Environment

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