Question: Explain why plastic containers are favoured for storing food....

Question

Explain why plastic containers are favoured for storing food.

Answer 1

Solution

We should know that the process of formation of polymers using monomers is called polymerization. There are several ways of classification of polymers. Plastics are an example of polymers. Let us know about different kinds of plastics and their properties.

Complete answer:
Plastics are of different types. They are made from polymerization and hence there is a kind of synthetic fiber which is a polymer.
There are two major types of plastics that are thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. Let us study them in detail.
Thermoplastic: The properties of thermoplastics are between the fiber and elastomers. They are kind of fibre having elastic properties. They’re related to the word thermo that is temperature. As we increase the temperature, they get soft and melt, and after cooling down they get hard. Due to this property, that is, they can change shape by increasing temperature. They can be moulded and recycled into any shape we want. Some examples of thermoplastic are Polythene, polystyrene, PVC etc.
Thermosetting plastics: The thermosetting plastic also gets soft when heated, but only once. Once they get a shape of anything, they cannot be moulded, hence they are irreversible in nature. Common examples of thermosetting plastics are vulcanized rubber, fiberglass, polyester resin, melamine, bakelite, etc.
There are many reasons why plastic is preferred for storing food. It does not react with food, it is light weighted and easy to handle. Also easy to carry, it is portable. Also, they are pocket-friendly, strong in strength etc.

Note: Let us understand the difference between low density polyethylene and high density polyethylene.

Serial number	Low density polyethylene	High density polyethylene
1.	It is obtained under high pressure of 1000-2000 $K$ .	It is obtained under high pressure of 333-343 $K$ .
2.	It is obtained through the free radical addition and H-atom abstraction.	It is formed via addition polymerization and a catalyst is used.