Industrial Processes and Materials: Manufacturing, Plastics, Textiles

Industrial Processes and Materials

Item 1: Production Cycle and Industry Types

1. The Production Cycle:

Industries can be classified into:

• Extractive Industries
• Processing Industries

2. Extraction of Raw Materials:

According to the type of resource:

• Mineral energetics
• Non-metallic rocks and minerals
• Hydrocarbons
• Plant and animal materials

3. Processing Industries:

• Steel and metal
• Petrochemicals
• Paper and artificial wood industries
• Textiles and leather
• Industrial ceramics, glass, and building materials

4. Automobile Manufacturing Process:

1. Realization of parts by melting and molding.
2. Union of parts by welding, adhesives, or threaded elements.
3. Realization of finishing by coating with paints, enamels, and varnishes.
4. Control, product warehousing, and packaging.

5. Saving Natural Resources:

Application of the rule of the three Rs:

• Reduction: Do not purchase or consume products or energy that is not necessary.
• Reuse: Offer new usability of a product.
• Recycle: When the product cannot be reused.

Item 2: Plastics and Textiles

1. Origin and Properties of Plastics:

How We Get Plastics

Most plastics are derived synthetically from raw materials consisting of carbon compounds called hydrocarbons, obtained from the distillation of petroleum and natural gas. Petrochemicals transform these raw materials into intermediates, such as ethylene, propylene, or butylene. The final process to achieve the plastic is polymerization, a chemical reaction that forms large chains of monomers to build macromolecules called polymers. Some of the properties of plastics are modified when mixed with additive substances.

Properties of Plastics

• Lightness
• Capacity for thermal and electrical insulation
• Chemical resistance
• Mechanical resistance
• Versatility
• Manufacturing facility

2. Types of Plastics:

General Use Thermoplastics

Polyethylene, saturated polyesters, polyvinyl, polystyrene, polypropylene.

High-Performance Thermoplastics

Polyamides, polycarbonates, methacrylate, Teflon.

Thermostable Plastics

Phenols, amines, polyester resins, epoxy resins.

Elastomers

Rubber, neoprene, polyurethanes, silicones.

3. Textiles:

Textiles are flexible and light, adapting to the shape of the body or covering objects. They are good insulators, sometimes even waterproof, and are worked with ease.

Types of Fabric and Leather

• Natural fabrics
• Artificial fabrics
• Natural hides and skins
• Synthetic leather