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Silicone material is a synthetic elastomeric material that is able to stretch out to longer lengths and return to its original form without damage. Unlike plastic, silicone material is an extremely resilient material that is able to stand up well against damaging environmental factors, abrasive temperatures, and chemicals whereas plastics are easily susceptible to damage in these settings. A high temperature silicone sheet is able to resist melting or burning when coming into contact with temperatures as high as +500 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to its high temperature stability, silicone rubber products are able to remain flexible at low temperatures without running the risk of becoming stiff and cracking. Furthermore, silicone material is much healthier for the environment than plastic as it is created from a naturally derived source that is more abundant than resources used to create plastic.
Is Silicone a Plastic?
Silicone is not a plastic, but rather a synthetic elastomer that is made up of silicon-oxygen bonds that give it its unique environmental resistance properties and wide operating temperature range. Elastomers refer to materials “composed of long chainlike molecules, or polymers, that are capable of recovering their original shape after being stretched to great extents – hence the name elastomer, from ‘elastic polymer’” (Britannica.com). Both silicone and plastic derive from natural resources. Silicon, one of the main building blocks of silicone material, is a chemical element extracted from silica whereas plastic derives from petroleum oil. To further specify, “Silicone (with an ‘e’) is technically defined as a synthetic polymer created from silicone (a chemical element), oxygen, and other elements such as carbon and hydrogen” (carboncompanion.com). While most plastic products are fairly flexible materials, they are not as flexible as silicone rubber products and are subjected to embrittlement when exposed to low temperatures whereas silicone material is able to remain flexible at low temperatures. Additionally, a silicone roll is a much more resilient material than plastic making it applicable for more settings and abrasive environments. Along with its ability to remain flexible at low temperatures, silicone material is highly resistant to extreme heat, allowing it to remain intact when exposed to extreme heat. Furthermore, silicone material not only retains high and low temperature flexibility, but also the ability to remain flexible and resilient in other harsh conditions. More specifically, “Some properties such as elongation, creep, cyclic flexing, tear strength, compression set, dielectric strength (at high voltage), thermal conductivity, fire resistance and in some cases tensile strength can be – at extreme temperatures – far superior to organic rubbers in general…” (Wikipedia.org). Contrastingly, although plastic is a resilient material itself, it is not resistant to abrasive temperatures or outdoor damaging factors making it inferior to silicone material.
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Is Silicone Better than Plastic?
Silicone is better than plastic because it is able to withstand harsher conditions and settings while also offering longer life. Silicone material is often used as an alternative to plastic due to their shared moldability. In addition, when it comes to resilience as service life, silicone is much more durable than plastic. High temperature silicone sheet is the ultimate heat resistant material compared to natural sheet rubber variations as well as certain synthetic variations as well. Silicone material has an extremely wide operating temperature range and is able to resist both high and low temperatures ranging from -103 to +500 degrees Fahrenheit. This incredible resistance to such high and low temperatures can be attributed to its unique silicon-to-oxygen polymer backbone structure. Case in point, “As compared to organic rubber, silicone rubber has Si-O bond in its structure, and hence, it has better: heat resistance, chemical stability, electrical insulation, abrasion resistance, weatherability, as well as ozone resistance…” (omnexus.specialchem.com). Temperature plays a large role in the structure of plastic products. Most plastic materials are highly susceptible to embrittlement when exposed to low temperatures and melting when exposed to high temperatures. Silicone rubber products, on the other hand, are able to retain low temperature flexibility and excellent resistance against abrasive heat, making silicone material a long-lasting alternative to plastic materials. Although both are recyclable materials that are frequently repurposed into post-consumer products, silicone material is much safer for the environment.
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(a) Is Silicone More Expensive than Plastic?
Silicone is more expensive than plastic; however, the cost of silicone can prove to be worth the extra rate in the long run by being a versatile, resilient, and long-lasting material in abrasive settings. Silicone material is able to resist degradation caused by abrasive temperatures, both high and low. It is able to remain flexible at lower temperatures whereas “a low temperatures, some plastics that would be ductile at room temperature become brittle” causing it to crack or break (omnexus.specialchem.com). A high temperature silicone sheet is also very difficult to burn, and when it does burn, no toxic fumes are emitted from the burning material. Plastic will melt and, when burned, will emit toxic fumes into the environment. Silicone material is also better resistant to harsh environmental factors, such as UV radiation and ozone, which accelerates the rate of aging. For instance, one of the most important materials used in the plastics industry, polystyrene, is commonly used “due to its excellent physical properties and low-cost”: however, when exposed to UV rays, “it undergoes a rapid yellowing and a gradual embrittlement” (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). To prevent this, most manufacturers use stabilizing substances to prevent degradation from outdoor damaging factors; however, an elastomeric silicone roll will remain a reliable material that can offer versatile use in abrasive settings involving extreme temperatures and environmental factors.
(b) Is Silicone as Bad for the Environment as Plastic?
Silicone is not as bad for the environment as plastic because silica, one of the main building blocks of silicone, is abundantly found in sand whereas the natural resources used to make plastic are considered non-renewable resources that must be dug up from the earth and processed. Both silicone and plastic retain similar properties, such as their ability to be molded into different shapes, but this is where the similarities end. A silicone roll is “made by combining the element silicon with other elements, such as oxygen” which gives it its superior temperature range and resistance to outdoor damaging factors, including UV rays, ozone, and oxygen” (ecoandbeyond.co). Plastic, on the other hand, is “made from natural materials such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt and crude oil through a polymerization or polycondensation process” (plasticseurope.org). Silicone material is better for the environment than plastic due to the materials used in its production. Silica is an abundant material that is found in most types of sand around the world whereas the crude oil used to create plastic is a non-renewable resource that must be dug up from the Earth. Case in point, “Plastics are often made from crude oil that’s extracted from the Earth and transformed into plastic by altering the oil’s carbon compounds, Crude oil, like coal, is a non-renewable resource, meaning that when it’s gone, there will be no oil left to create new raw plastics. On the other hand, silicon…is readily found in sand – which is more abundant (although not ‘unlimited’)” (earthhero.com). Like plastic, silicone material is commonly recycled and created into other post-consumer products. Silicone material must be set to special recycling companies and are often turned into silicone oil used as industrial lubricants (ecousarecycling.com). Furthermore, silicone will not break down in the environment or leach any toxins into the environment; however, plastics do break down into “dangerous microplastic pieces that can be ingested by wildlife and ocean life, silicone doesn’t break down…” (earthhero.com). Therefore, silicone material is better for the environment not only in its production process but also in its recycling process.
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Compared to plastic materials, silicone material is much more versatile and resilient against most factors that can be detrimental to plastic. Silicone material is not a plastic as it is made up of abundant natural resources whereas plastic is made up of non-renewable crude oil. Due to its unique silicon-to-oxygen bonded polymer backbone structure, silicone rubber products retain excellent environmental resistance properties, heat resistance, chemical resistance, and excellent physical strength, allowing them to provide long-lasting applications in abrasive settings. This gives silicone material longer life in abrasive settings that plastics cannot. Additionally, a high temperature silicone sheet will remain intact when exposed to high temperatures and will not emit any toxins into the environment if it does burn making silicone material not only a better overall material, but also a healthier choice for the environment. Although these properties make the cost of silicone significantly higher than that of plastic, it is actually a cost-effective choice in material as it will need less frequent replacements.
Is Silicone a Plastic?
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