Event
ChBE Seminar Series: Albert A. Hummel
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Room 2108, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
Professor Ganesh Sriram
gsriram@umd.edu
Albert A. Hummel
Global Technology Manager, PP Catalysts
W.R. Grace
The global plastics industry today is almost $800 billion, and consumes 3% of the world petroleum market. The humble beginnings in the mid-1800s were from cellulose nitrate and plastics like Bakelite, followed by discoveries in the 1930s of synthetic nylon, polyester, PVC and ultimately the highly contested polyolefin market, now the largest plastic market today. The interesting history and chemistry of the major resins will be reviewed, especially polypropylene, with some thoughts on where the market is heading today.
