The chemical and material industry offers raw materials for many industries such as the manufacturing industry, pharmaceutical, and medical industry, food and beverage industry, electronics and semiconductor industry, and others. All these industries use chemicals and materials for various applications as a part of their production process. The chemical industry deals with various industrial chemicals which are used as raw materials during distinct processes during production. Generally, water, gas, oil, metals, and minerals are considered conventional raw materials. But using various chemical substances such as acid, bases, alkalis, and othe ... Read More

The chemical and material industry offers raw materials for many industries such as the manufacturing industry, pharmaceutical, and medical industry, food and beverage industry, electronics and semiconductor industry, and others. All these industries use chemicals and materials for various applications as a part of their production process. The chemical industry deals with various industrial chemicals which are used as raw materials during distinct processes during production. Generally, water, gas, oil, metals, and minerals are considered conventional raw materials. But using various chemical substances such as acid, bases, alkalis, and others, these raw materials can be converted into thousands of different useful compounds which are either the final products or the intermediary products.

One of the most commonly used materials in the world is plastic which is a polymer of various carbon compounds. A polymer is a chain of molecules that are called monomers. Monomers or these carbon compounds are linked together using the polymerization reaction to form a mesh or a chain of monomers that are structurally strong enough to withstand some of the harshest conditions. Because of its strength and cheap manufacturing cost, plastic has become extremely popular across several industries as an ideal packaging material, which can protect several products.

The unique thing about plastic is that the type of monomer used during its production decides the quality of plastic which is manufactured at the end. Because of this, almost every type of plastic available in the market can withstand temperature changes, extreme pressure, corrosion, and many others. Medical-grade plastic can even maintain sterility which is necessary to keep medical products safe from microbial contamination. However, the high strength of plastic and its inert nature means that it can stay in the environment for extremely long periods. It is almost impossible for plastic to decompose naturally. Because of this, many environmental activists are targeting plastic manufacturers and suppliers because of its harmful effects on the environment. Many countries have even completely banned the use of plastic in any form. Instead of plastic, many researchers are now looking for material that has the structural qualities of plastic but is biodegradable. Many researchers have even been successful as they have created plant-based alternatives to plastic. Although these products are still not in mass production, they are still expected to capture the market in the future.

Metals are another potential candidate when it comes to manufacturing or production procedure. Earlier, metals such as gold, silver, iron, etc. were being used as the packaging material for luxurious goods or as a material for manufacturing kitchenware equipment and other related products. But as the technology progressed, more cheap, inert, and structurally sound and light metals were made available, like steel and aluminum. Steel is considered the perfect material for any kind of manufacturing process that involves metal. This is because steel has a structural integrity that is better than any metal while also being resistant to natural corrosion. It is an alloy of iron and carbon, which offers immense strength and resistance to corrosion. Because of this, many industries use steel as manufacturing and packaging material as it is significantly cheaper. It is also easier to mold steel as per the requirement, thus making it extremely environment-friendly. Steel is used in the manufacturing of kitchenware, toys, automobiles, transport systems, industrial machines, furniture, and many other products. Aluminum, on the other hand, is a less shiny and light variant of steel or iron. Because of being light, aluminum is used in manufacturing airplanes, airbuses, cruises, boats, and others. Aluminum has a relative density of only 2.7, which makes it an ideal material for manufacturing cruise ships and boats. A similar concept applies to its use in the aerospace industry which requires light and string materials.

In the food and beverage industry, chemicals are used as colorants, Beverage flavoring agents, aromatic agents, preservatives, etc. Flavoring agents are chemicals that share structural similarities to that naturally occurring substances. Organic esters can mimic the smell of various fruits as the compounds that are found naturally in these fruits are also esters. Obtaining these esters naturally is not efficient as the yield is extremely low in comparison to the resources used during this extraction. Hence, these esters are crafted in laboratories which then are used as the flavoring agents. The chemical industry has also allowed the food and beverage industry to replace harmful substances which are damaging to the body if consumed in large quantities. Sugar-free food products are the perfect example of this trend as people are getting more curious about the ingredients they consume. Sugar is extremely damaging to the body hence, it is always ideal to reduce its consumption. With the help of the chemical industry, food and beverage companies have managed to replace sugar or sucrose with alternatives such as Stevia, Allulose, Xylitol, etc. with the growing demand of the food and beverage industry, the reliance on artificially manufactured flavors, colors, and aromas are only estimated to increase in coming future.

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