Automotive industry Motorists want high-performing cars combined with reliability, safety, comfort, competitive pricing, fuel         efficiency, and, increasingly, reassurance about the impact on the environment. Lightweight polymeric materials. Are increasingly used in this sector (Daimler Benz's Smart is a nice example), also contributing to a 10% reduction in passenger fuel consumption across Europe.

Building and construction Polymeric materials are used in the building and construction sector, for example for insulation, piping, and window frames. In 2002 this sector accounted for 17.6% of the total polymer consumption.

Electrical and electronic industry Many applications in this field arise from newly designed polymeric materials, for example for polymeric solar cells and holographic films. It is interesting to note that, while the number of applications in this field is increasing, the weight of the polymers used per unit is decreasing.

Packaging The packaging sector remains the largest consumer of synthetic polymers, approximately 38% of the total market. This is mainly due to. the fact that these materials are lightweight, flexible, and easy to process, and are therefore increasingly being substituted for other materials. Although polymer packaging ranks first in terms of units sold, it is only third if judged on weight.

Agriculture As agricultural applications account for about 2.5% of the total of synthetic polymers consumed in Europe, they play only a marginal role. Irrigation and drainage systems provide effective solutions to crop growing, and polymeric films and greenhouses can increase horticultural production substantially. The use of so called "super absorbers" for increased irrigation efficiency in arid areas can be considered an important emerging market.

Tables 2 and 3 present some polymers with their applications.

 

Table. 2. Applications for the major thermoplastics [2].

 

Table. 3. Applications for the major thermosets [2].

The development of new polymers and the modification and enhancement of the old ones are goals of many researchers in both industry and academia. A breadth of knowledge has been built over the years which involve aspects of organic chemistry, physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, physics, chemical and mechanical engineering. Those sciences are integrated to support the in-depth analysis of polymer synthesis, structure, kinetics, characterization, and processing in order to relate to the performance of the polymer in end use. If polymer chains are completely characterized and the structural basis of its properties are known, the polymerization reaction can be optimized and controlled to produce the optimum properties from a particular chemical system.

[1] Handbook of polymer reaction engineering (2005)

[2] Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe. (2002)