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Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)
3-8 usd/kg
Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), acrylic, is a transparent plastic often compared to glass. Indeed, the two materials are used in many of the same applications – glazing, aquariums, household items, tableware and furniture, for example – with acrylic being lighter, more resistant to impact and easier to form into complex and intricate shapes. The disadvantages of acrylic, when compared to glass is that it is not inert (glass is virtually inert) and will crack and weaken if exposed to certain chemicals, it softens and melts at much lower temperatures (160 degC versus 1,700 degC for glass), and it is less scratch resistant.
As a transparent plastic, it is available in standard and custom colours, from muted tones through saturated fluorescents. Edge glow is the result of light passing through the surface and refracting internally until it meets a cut edge in tinted or semi-transparent materials. This phenomenon is utilised in signage, lighting and instrument panels, for example, that are made from acrylic. A cut edge may be the perimeter, or a score on the surface, such as made by laser cutting or engraving.
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Sustainability concerns
Non-renewable ingredients
Raw material generates polluting by-products
Low circularity potential
Microplastics
Styrene methyl methacrylate (SMMA), acrylic copolymer, has many of the same characteristics as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), acrylic, including light transmission (clarity), surface hardness and resistance to weathering. The styrene part improves chemical resistance and reduces water absorption (by around 50%). Lower water absorption rates means better dimensional stability over time, compared to acrylic, making it more suited to consumer product applications like light guides, lenses and covers.
It provides a safe material for food packaging and food contact applications, such as water filters, food boxes, kitchen storage and medical devices (such as diabetes injection pens). Similarly, it is used in transparent stationary, and cosmetics packaging. It has one of the highest rates of light transmission among the transparent plastics, equivalent to glass and acrylic, and has very good resistance to things like moisturiser. It is blow moulded into transparent containers used for point of sale and bathroom storage.