With over 40 years of experience in providing industrial coating and lubrication solutions, Coating Systems is well placed to provide information and education, as well as customer service. The Coating Systems blog is here to give you the information you need about the products we offer to help you come better prepared. In a previous entry, we covered the basics of polymers. In this follow up entry, we will list some examples of the useful nature of polymers in industrial applications.
Polymer Types
As covered in a previous Coating Systems blog about polymers, polymers are divided into two types: natural and synthetic. Here we will look at some simple examples of both of these types of polymers.
Related Post: Coating Systems Explains Polymers
Natural Polymers
Although the name might suggest something synthetic, the meaning of “polymer” is simple “many parts”, derived from Greek origins. This means that polymers do not have to be man-made but can exist in nature. The following are a few examples of natural polymers.
Starch
Starch is a polymer made up of hundreds of glucose monomers. Most of us will recognize starch as something commonly found in foods like potatoes, cereal grains, and pasta.
Cellulose
Cellulose is another naturally occurring polymer. Cellulose makes up the leaves of plants, the wood in trees and the pulp that we make from it to make paper.
Chitin
Chitin is a very similar natural polymer to cellulose. An example of chitin is the exoskeletons of crustaceans, spiders, and insects.
Protein
Proteins are condensed polymers of amino acids that have been condensed. Proteins come in a huge variety, broken down into the categories of fibrous, globular, and membrane.
Synthetic Polymers
These are just a few examples of natural polymers. An immense number of polymers exist in nature and would be difficult to condense into a single blog. The same could be said for synthetic or man-made polymers, but Coating Systems can still give a few examples.
Related Post: What Is the Difference Between Polymers Like Halar and Monomers?
Film Wraps
The plastic that you find wrapped around some products and the plastic you made use to wrap your food for leftovers is an extremely common example of a synthetic polymer.
Plastic Bags
The bags you usually use in the supermarket are another extremely common example. While there has been a push towards reusable bags (many of which are also an example of synthetic polymer), most major supermarkets still provide standard plastic bags.
Packing Peanuts
The polystyrene packing peanuts and packaging components many products come with are made by creating an artificial polymer.
Any Common Plastic
As you might have guessed from just those three, every plastic you encounter on a daily basis is a synthetic polymer. Just like natural polymers, it would be impossible for Coating Systems to cover all of them in a blog, but this should give you an idea of just how ubiquitous polymers of all kinds are.
Contact Coating Systems
Whatever project you are undertaking or machinery you are undertaking, Coating Systems can help. Contact us today to learn about our coating and lubrication options, from powder coating and spin coating to local services such as sandblasting.
