SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

“MATERIALS AROUND ME”

A WRITE-UP PRESENTED TO THE

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT
OF THE COURSE CHE 3141

Submitted by:
Domingo, Cyber R.

Submitted to:
Engr. Maria Lourdes G. Pitargue

DECEMBER 8, 2021
INTRODUCTION:

A drinking straw is a utensil. It is a utensil intended to carry the contents of a

beverage to our mouth. It is usually made from plastics; actually, this kind of

drinking straws are the most prominent because this is the one that started it all.

You can see this kind of plastic straw in supermarkets, in their beverages, coffee

shops, and milk tea shops. Plastic straws became widespread following World War

II. The materials used in their manufacture were inexpensive, and the types of

restaurant fare they accompanied had become more affordable and widespread.

Why are plastic straws bad? Well, it should be illegal to construct any single-use or

disposable item out of materials that will not bio-degrade. Plastic straws are just

one material that is a problem in this arena. An obvious exception might be

products in a hospital setting, but these items are incinerated as bio-hazardous

wastes.

DISCUSSION FOR MATERIAL SELECTION:

Why did I choose this material? Well, I’m a coffee-lover, and I’ve always been

choosy about the utensils that I use because when we go outside and buy our drinks

from coffee shops, we are just given a plastic straw. After all, it is the most

efficient and low cost, which is beneficial for the business. However, sometimes

this kind of material has drawbacks; it is not pro-environment, it’s estimated that 8

million tons of these end up in the ocean each year, and what marine animal is the

most affected because of this? Turtles. That is why these environmental concerns

led to new regulations that give rise to the new age, to new reusable and

biodegradable straws, like this one, a metal straw. Nevertheless, before that, we

will dwell first on the one that started it all.

PROCESS FOR ITEM FABRICATION:

How are these straws made?

So, polypropylene resin is mixed with plasticizers, colorants, antioxidants,

stabilizers, and fillers for the plastic straw. All of these are in powder form and

blended together. It is heated to have a molten mixture, and it is exposed to cold

water to harden the compound, where it has also been subjected to rotating knives

to cut them into their desired shapes and sizes.

For the metal one, food-grade stainless steel is used. It is subjected to forming

operations, such as forging, rolling, extrusion, and drawing, to acquire its desired

shape, size, and use. It is then physically decorated to the needs and wants of the

manufacturer or the business that utilizes the metal straw.

PROPERTIES OF THE ITEM:

What are the properties of these straws? Well for the plastic straw is made of the

thermoplastic polymer Polypropylene. This plastic is known for its durability,

lightness, and ability to be manufactured at a low cost. This kind of plastic

packaging is used for consumer products, the automotive industry, and special

devices like living hinges and textiles. Polypropylene is a resin made by

polymerizing or combining together molecules of propylene gas. Therefore, when

a huge number of these molecules are chemically hooked up together, they form

this solid plastic material. It is lightweight, has fair abrasion resistance, good

dimensional stability, and good surface hardness. It typically does not experience

stress cracking problems and offers excellent chemical resistance at higher

temperatures. This means it can be melted, formed into various shapes, and can be

melted and molded again upon reheating.

The metal straws are made up of stainless steel, so it has a high resistance to

corrosion and heat exposure. It has a very high tensile strength, durable, easy

formability, and fabrication, low-maintenance or long-lasting because you can use

it whenever you want, you have to clean it, of course regularly, it has an attractive

appearance, because of its shining and glimmering texture, and also the most

important, it is environmentally friendly.

TREATMENT FOR ITEM DISPOSAL:

Because it is plastic, it is not really that recyclable because it is not accepted in

curbside recycling programs. They are too lightweight to make it through the

mechanical recycling sorter. They drop through sorting screens, mix with other

materials, and are too small to separate, contaminating recycling loads or getting

disposed of as garbage that is very dirty and inefficient. Therefore, because they

are non-recyclable, they end up in landfills, and in a worldwide view, they

frequently end up in rivers and oceans. So instead of putting them into the trash,

we can use them as DIY decorations, like Christmas lanterns, furniture, or glue and

stick them together to craft a candle or pen holder. We can do so much about our

leftover plastic straws. We have to think outside the box and be crafty about these

things.

Please keep it in your pocket for the metal straw because it can take a very long

time, like over 100-1000+ years, before it completely breaks down back into its

more natural element.

POSSIBLE MODIFICATIONS TO IMPROVE THE ITEM:

Well, nothing much can be done for the plastic straws because we already did it.

We came up with an innovation that created advancement that led to what I am

holding right now, this metal straw. There are many variations like silicone straws,

bamboo, paper, and many more. However, if we want a long-lasting one, we

should settle for the first one. Tweaks or modifications? Maybe some, like

substituting stainless steel into an eco-friendlier metal like scrap or recycled metal,

these are metals that you can buy at your nearest thrift metal shop. Why this?

Because it uses lesser energy to produce than stainless straws and contributes less

carbon emission. Somehow, those are just the modifications I can envision because

innovation has already been taken place for this material, and why did I choose

this? Because it’s the frequently material that I use during the day when I’m

drinking my beverages. It affects me on a wide-scale level because only a few

people in a community use this, and I can say now is the time to substitute. To save

the turtles in the ocean, contribute something to the environment, and create a more

sustainable life for the future generation.

REFERENCES:

Adell, R. (2020). Banning Plastic Straw by Straw: Why California needs a more
harmonized approach to plastics management | LUP Student Papers. LUND
University Libraries.
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/search/publication/9017486
Robinson, N. J. R., & Figgener, C. F. (2015). Plastic Straw Found Inside the
Nostril of an Olive Ridley Sea Turtle. Sea Turtles. Published.

Demin Jiang, Penghui An, Suping Cui, Shiguo Sun, Jingzong Zhang, Tianfu Tuo,
"Effect of Straw Fiber Modification Methods on Compatibility between Straw
Fibers and Cement-Based Materials", Advances in Civil Engineering, vol. 2020,
Article ID 8392935, 16 pages, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8392935

D. (2019, September 23). Plastic Straws a Recycling Problem. Homewood

Disposal Service. https://mydisposal.com/plastic-straws

Tembo Paper B.V. (2020). Are Straws Recyclable? Here’s Your Answer. . ..
Tembo Paper. https://www.tembopaper.com/news/are-straws-recyclable-heres-
your-answer

Metal Straws - The benefits of switching to reusable straws. (2021, March 30). The
Kitchen Gift Company. https://www.thekitchengiftco.com/blog/metal-straws-the-
benefits-of-switching-to-reusable-straws/

Richardson, Paul. Introduction to Extrusion. Brookfield Center, CT: Society of

Plastic Engineers, 1974. http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Drinking-
Straw.html#ixzz7EQlly1a5