In Fact，We can’t live without plastic products.As wholesale Businessman, it’s even more important to understand the properties of plastics. Below, we’ve listed how to difference between different types of plastics and some common plastic products.
Classification of Plastics
Plastics can be classified according to their application areas, crystal form, behavior under heat, and other classification methods.Most factories will classify plastics according to thermosetting and thermoplastic plastics,By this we can distinguish whether this type of plastic can be melted down and recycled.
1.Behavior under Heat(Commonly used):
- Thermosetting plastics
- Thermoplastic plastics
2.Application Areas:
- General-purpose plastics (high production volume, low price, mostly used in daily necessities)
- Engineering plastics
- Specialty plastics
3.Crystal Forms:
- Crystalline plastics
- Amorphous plastics
4.Other Classification Methods:
- Transparency
- Hardness
- Chemical Structure
Difference between Thermosetting and Thermoplastic Plastics
Thermosetting Plastics:
Become infusible substances when heated, lose their plasticity upon reheating, and cannot be recycled. Thermosetting Plastics is common used in our daily life,examples include:
1.Phenolic Resins
Kitchenware
Electrical Components
Stationary Supplies
Small Tools
2.Epoxy Resins
3.Amino Resins
4.Polyurethane
Thermoplastic Plastics:
Plastics that can be repeatedly heated to soften and cooled to harden within a specific temperature range, such as ABS, PP, POM, PC, PS, PVC, PA, PMMA, etc., and can be recycled.
How to Identify the Corresponding Plastics
- PP:
Easily flammable, melts and drips, yellow on top and blue on the bottom, continues to burn with little smoke after removal from the flame, smells of petroleum.
- PE:
Easily flammable, melts and drips, yellow on top and blue on the bottom, continues to burn after removal from the flame, smells of burning paraffin.
- PVC:
Difficult to soften when burning, yellow on top and green on the bottom with smoke, extinguishes after removal from the flame, has a pungent acidic smell.
- PET:
Easily flammable, melts and drips, produces yellow and black smoke, continues to burn after removal from the flame, smells of styrene.
- ABS:
Burns slowly, bright yellow flame with flashes, produces black smoke, after extinguishing, has a pungent, fishy smell similar to PS.
Conclusion
At UnionYiwu, we help global business man find Best China’s plastics supply chain. From everyday plastic products to custom injection-molded PP, ABS, and PET products, we connect you with certified, professional manufacturers and manage the entire procurement process—from supplier selection and price negotiation to quality control and shipping—ensuring efficient, cost-effective, and reliable results.
