Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello Everyone,

I am doing a project for school on thermal depolymerization as a topic Deadline march 18 2011.
i need some good ideas as a purpose. Also I need to know how i can recreate the process
in a lab.

Anything would be helpful i was thinking of testing it's affects on different plastics.
So test this i was going to use a pressure cooker.

thanks,
joey6978

Hi Joey,

Welcome to the forum. There's been some other discussion of thermal depolymerization recently, and I think you'll find the links to background info, procedure troubleshooting, and safety warnings helpful:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... 26&p=28243
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... 95&p=29460

Different polymers will break down at different temperatures, and I think that many will be beyond the capability of a pressure cooker.

As for the purpose, I'd guess that that's where your teacher wants to state what you're trying to accomplish. You could say that in the form of "To measure the effect of ___ on ___", which you've already told us! If you're also supposed to explain why this is an interesting and useful topic, you could look into the need to break down plastics for recycling purposes.

Amanda

well what do you think a good idea would be?