Additives are essential

Abstract

For twenty years the world has been absorbed in a computer revolution of such intensity that the progress made in other areas of technology, including much of materials technology, has been neglected by the media. This brief introductory section is designed to highlight the way in which plastics additives now constitute a highly successful and essential sector of the chemical industry. The professional scientists and technologists who use this book for reference purposes will already be very familiar with plastics and the additives used in them. It would be understandable if such people take for granted that progress in industrial chemistry and plastics technology is a positive influence on our quality of life. Other readers, and perhaps even some science students, may be more ambivalent. Many people have been influenced by the widespread public suspicion of chemicals in general (and additives in particular, whether in foods or plastics). The benefits of plastics additives can easily be assumed to be marginal. We need to explain that they are not simply optional extras; they are essential ingredients which can make all the difference between success and failure in plastics technology.