Plastic is created from a monomer. Think of them as links in a chain. The classic example is ethylene. Scientists have discovered that treating it you can create chains of them to get polyethylene. This pattern repeats for different plastics. The feedstock can be oil or natural gas. But they have to go through further refinement before they can be turned into plastic. When I was in chemistry, the trick was to start with a pure feedstock. Otherwise you run into having to deal with side effects & impurities or may end up with a lower grade of plastic.
croc_socks t1_j29gkxp wrote
Reply to eli5 How is plastic created? by Consistent_Elk_5546
Plastic is created from a monomer. Think of them as links in a chain. The classic example is ethylene. Scientists have discovered that treating it you can create chains of them to get polyethylene. This pattern repeats for different plastics. The feedstock can be oil or natural gas. But they have to go through further refinement before they can be turned into plastic. When I was in chemistry, the trick was to start with a pure feedstock. Otherwise you run into having to deal with side effects & impurities or may end up with a lower grade of plastic.