P
P
PA
See: Polyamides.
Packaging
Wrapping or container which keeps goods together and protects the goods from external influences. Constructive packaging is packaging which has been formed to fit the goods, which are fastened and protected by fittings. An important aspect of packaging is its function as bearer of information for consumers.
Packaging regulations
Regulations pertaining to prevention and use of packaging waste.
=> Waste management goals:
These regulations aim to reduce or delay the impact that packaging waste has on the environment. Measures are laid forth to attain the following goals: the first priority consists of preventing packaging waste; other main principles pertain to recycling of packaging materials.
The packaging regulations distinguish between:
- Sales packaging
- Repackaging
- Transport packaging
The manufacturers and distributors of packaged goods are subject to fulfilling certain obligations with regards to the return and recycling of the packaging that they place on the market. To fulfil these obligations, the manufacturers and distributors can join systems and/or contract third parties (Duales System "Green Dot", Interseroh, Rethmann- System, etc.).
Paint preservatives
Used for car paints, they exist in liquid or paste form and primarily contain wax-like and possibly other hydrophobic components that are either dissolved or dispersed in solvents (usually white spirit) or emulsified in water. Paint polishes also contain abrasives.
Paint strippers
Paint strippers are generally methyl chloride-based and must be used in conformance with the safety requirements (see data sheets from trade associations on the handling of hydrogen halides). They must not be disposed of into the sewage system or soil. Nowadays there are more environmentally friendly, solvent-based strippers, which no longer contain methylene chloride. However, they are inflammable and must be allowed to react for considerably longer times. There are paste-like products for stripping paint from vertical surfaces, and liquid products for dip stripping.
PAN
See: Polyacrylonitrile.
Pascal
Passive noise protection
Installation of sound-insulating elements (walls, building materials).
PCB
Abbreviation for polychlorinated biphenyls. Substance group that was used earlier for a wide array of applications due to its chemical and physical properties (incombustibility, high boiling point, high viscosity, thermal stability, chemical resistance), e.g. as insulation material, coolant or hydraulic fluid. Since July 1, 1986, it is no longer allowed underground in closed systems such as transformers, condensers, resistors, choke coils and hydraulic systems. It is no longer produced in Germany. If PCBs are burned between the temperatures 600 and 900° C, Furans and Dioxins can result (See: TCDD). It only completely incinerates at higher temperatures.
PCP
Abbreviation for pentachlorophenol. Effective agent for protecting materials (especially wood) from mold and decay. Poisonous, must not be used in interior spaces.
PE
See: Polyethylene.
Pentachlorophenol
See: PCP.
Perborate
Sodium, important component of washing agents to bleach soiled spots. Borates with bound H2O2.
Percutaneous
Term that denotes uptake through the skin.
Persistence
Perseverance, tenacity, stability of chemical substances against environmental effects (decomposition).
Petrol separator
Device for separating petrol from waste water, as an aid in purification plants and for reducing the risk of explosions in sewage systems.
pH value
The negative decade logarithm of hydrogen ion activity. It serves to denote the hydrogen or hydroxyl ion concentration in aqueous solutions and therefore identifies the basic or acidic behavior of these solutions. Measurement is carried out using an electrical pH meter.
Phon
Measure of the Loudness level. It is practically obsolete and has been replaced by sound pressure level measured in Decibel (A).
Phosgene
Colorless gas, which smells like hay, used in the manufacture of paints and plastics among other things. Phosgene is a strong lung poison.
Phosphate stripping
Combined biological and chemical procedure for reducing phosphorous compounds from sewage water.
Phosphates
Substances with very different structures and effects:
- inorganic salts of orthophosphoric and polyphosphoric acids (used in fertilizers, washing agents, animal fodder and in the paints industry as corrosion protection pigments in certain paint substances)
- simple phosphoric acid triaryl esters and trialkyl esters, e.g. triphenyl phosphate (softeners, flame retardants)
- Phosphoric acid ester with special structure modified for specific biological effect, e.g. parathion, dimethoate (insecticides, acaracides), natural phosphates.
Phosphates are rarely found in the groundwater. The high content of inorganic phosphates often found in bodies of water must stem from sewage water. The phosphates in sewage water can be traced back to fecal matter, fertilizer wash off, and cleaning agents, each making up for about one-third of the phosphate.
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (German Federal Institute for Physical Technology)
See: PTB.
Pigments
Soluble organic coloring agents in solvents and/or binders. A distinction is made between natural pigments (of animal or plant origin) and synthetic pigments.
Plasticizer
Liquid or solid neutral organic substances, primarily ester-like. They can physically interact with high-polymer substances (plastics) without chemical reactions and form a homogenous system in which they add certain desired physical properties such as reduced hardness and increased malleability.
Plastics
Plastics are macromolecular organic compounds that are obtained via chemical modification of natural substances or via chemical synthesis of various basic substances (e.g. acetylene, ethylene). Production requires molecules with reactive spots (e.g. functional groups such as amino groups, carboxyl groups and hydroxyl groups, double or triple bonds). According to their thermal behavior, plastics are categorized as:
- Duroplasts: cross-linked, rigid, brittle molecules which cannot be melted and, once they have hardened, can no longer be changed by heat
- Thermoplasts: threadlike molecules that are matted together, which become plastic (malleable) when heated to above the softening point and retain their shape after cooling
- Elastoplasts: rubbery elastic raw materials or elastomers
The following distinctions are made according to the origin:
- from modified natural substances (semi-synthetic plastics), e.g. cellulose ester, Galalith, chlorinated rubber
- fully synthetic plastics that are manufactured via Polymerization, Polycondensation and Polyaddition
The most important common properties of plastics include: the fact that they are macromolecular, high polymer, light, non-conductive, physiologically harmless, predominantly resistant to water and chemicals but not to severe heat.
Platforming
A procedure for improvement and further processing of straight-run gasoline that is passed over a platinum catalyst at a temperature between 500 and 600° C. This process includes dehydration, cyclization, isomerization, desulfurization and increasing the octane number of the original product.
Poison classification
According to the Poisons prescription (usually state-issued poison regulations), poisons and poisonous pesticides are subdivided into the categories poisonous, corrosive, noxious and irritant substances and preparations.
Poisoning
Poisoning is:
1. acute poisoning: caused by ingesting toxicological substances as represented by an overdose of sleeping pills, potassium cyanide, arsenic or household cleaning agents. The latter is primarily seen in cases involving children. Special clinics provide immediate treatment for acute poisoning.
2. chronic poisoning: damage to the organism due to long-term effect of substances as represented by exposure to mercury, lead, cadmium, asbestos as well as excessive nicotine and alcohol consumption.
Poisons
Substances, certain dosages of which damage or kill individual or all functions of an organism depending on various properties. Many substances are poisonous starting at a certain quantity, e.g. healing or poisonous affect of medicines. Poisons enter the body from external sources or they are created in the organism itself. According to where the poisons act in the body, distinctions are made between nerve, blood, heart and capillary poisons.
Poisons prescription
These usually refer to state-issued prescriptions pertaining to handling poisons. Contains a catalog of drugs, chemical compounds and preparations that are subdivided into three poison classes (class 1: the most dangerous poisons). Special provisions are prescribed for the trade with poisonous pesticides, wood preservers, poisonous paints and seeds that have been treated with poisons. See: Chemicals Act.
Pollutants
All substances introduced into an ecosystem, which damage the ecosystem itself or damage to a measurable extent the ability for living organisms to use this ecosystem; in the case of many pollutants, pollution is a matter of concentration.
Polluter pays principle
Abbreviation: PPP. Principle applied to producers and consumers in all environmentally relevant areas; it states that the party causing environmental pollution is responsible for paying for the results. Application of the polluter pays principle in everyday practice is problematic due to a technically specialized economy and society and it is the subject of many discussions.
Pollution
General term for all types of environmental pollution. Burden on the ecological system by impurities in and physical effects (e.g. waste heat) on air, water and soil resulting in an adverse influence on the area in question; the stress on plants from alien substances is also capable of burdening exposed humans and animals.
Pollution unit
Term taken from the German Effluent Charges Act (See: Sewage fee). According to this act, use of a body of water for waste and Waste water is associated with a fee that is based on the amount of pollution damage caused. This pollution damage is expressed in pollution units.
Polyacrylic resins
Plastics based on acrylic acid or acrylic acid ester. In solid form, they are an important plastic for translucent plastic products. They are also used as thickening agents, sizing agents and adhesives. Paints industry: used as a bonding agent, e.g. in high quality 2C PUR topcoat and clear paints.
Polyacrylonitrile
Abbreviation: PAN. Raw material for fibers (Dralon) and Plastics (polymer).
Polyaddition
Third reaction type used to construct macromolecules in addition to Polycondensation and Polymerization. In both polyaddition and polymerization, no low-molecular molecules are split (as opposed to polycondensation). Polyaddition is usually carried out under mild conditions, often at normal temperatures and without catalysts (as opposed to many types of polymerization). One example are the polyurethanes.
Polyamides
Abbreviation: PA. Polyamide fiber materials, condensation product of aliphatic dicarboxylic acids with diamines. Usage: textile fibers, injection molding material (e.g. hub caps), drive belts and gasoline-resistant pipes.
Polychlorinated biphenyl
See: PCB.
Polychlorinated biphenyls
See: PCB.
Polycondensation
Combination of single molecules with water released (e.g. carboxyl groups with hydroxyl or amino groups) or other simple compounds.
Polyester
See: Polyester resins, e.g. alkyd resins.
Polyester fibers
Acid-resistant and alkali-resistant fibers; condensation product of terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol (examples: Dacron, Dioley, Terylene, Trevira).
Polyester resins
Unsaturated polyester resins, abbreviation: UP. Plastics with ester bond (polyester) of polyvalent alcohols with aliphatic or aromatic dicarboxylic acids that contain double bonds that cross-link the macromolecules (See: Plastics, duroplasts). Important basic substance in the paints industry as a so-called alkyd resin or artificial resin bonding agent for air-drying (oxidative) or oven-drying paint systems and for glass fiber reinforced plastics.
Polyethylene
Abbreviation: PE. Most important polymer plastic for packaging. Polyethylene can be burned without harming the environment (results in water and CO2).
Polymerization
A chemical procedure used in plastics technology in which many small molecules of one or more simple substances (monomers) combine to form large molecules (macromolecules). The new combined molecule has other properties than its members. In this way, for example, a gaseous substance can be transformed into a solid material.
Polymers
Synthetic products that result from Polymerization.
Polyphosphates
Collective term used to describe the salts of polyphosphoric acid. Sodium salts and esters are used as water softeners and washing powder additives.
Polypropylene
Abbreviation: PP. Polymer plastic for fibers, plastic bottles and plastic coatings.
Polystyrene
Abbreviation: PS. Polymerization product (See: Polymerization) made of styrene. It is one of the most important types of plastic and is characterized by a high level of transparency and brilliant colors. The electrical properties are also remarkable. Polystyrene is resistant to chemicals. It is primarily processed using the injection molding procedure. Most important usages: as packaging, consumer goods, device parts and in foam form as insulation for example.
Polyvinyl chloride
Abbreviation: PVC. Polymerization product made of vinyl chloride; glass clear, resistant to acid and lye, thermoplastic and colorable. Hydrogen chloride is split off in thermal decomposition.
ppb
Abbreviation for "parts per billion". 1 ppb = 1 billionth of the volume or weight = 1 microgram per kilogram ((mu)g/kg).
PP
See: Polypropylene.
ppm
Abbreviation for "parts per million". 1 ppm = 1 millionth of the volume or weight = 1 milligram per kilogram (mg/kg) or 1 gram per ton.
PPP
See: Polluter pays principle.
ppq
Abbreviation for "parts per quadrillion". 1 ppq = 1 quadrillionth of the volume or weight = 1 picogramm per kilogram (pg/kg).
ppt
Abbreviation for "parts per trillion". 1 ppt = 1 trillionth of the volume or weight = 1 nanogram per kilogram (ng/kg).
Precautionary principle
Precaution as a goal to which environmental policy is committed; serves to defend against possible threats and to remedy existing damage, as well as to protect the natural resources and ensure their temperate use.
Precipitation
Precipitation is:
1. Meteorology: the small particles dropping (condensing) from humid air: under 0.5 millimeters is drizzle, over 0.5 millimeters is rain.
2. major component of air pollution, Dust
3. Chemistry: more or less finely distributed substances that form and settle as the result of a reaction in a solution; especially used in chemical analysis.
Precipitation procedure
The conversion of soluble compounds into insoluble compounds by adding appropriate chemicals. The resulting precipitation product can be separated using appropriate physical procedures (e.g. sedimentation, flotation or filtration).
Preparations
Chemical products resulting from a deliberate mixture or solution of substances, e.g. paints, disinfection agents, pesticides and washing agents.
Process heat
The heat (energy) that is necessarily released in chemical, physical and nuclear processes. This heat can either be used for technical applications or has to be cooled using water for example, which could lead to warming of bodies of water.
Propellants
Agents used in aerosols and inhalants (See: Aerosols); compressed (e.g. N2, CO2, N2O) or liquefied (See: lower Hydrocarbons) gases, used in spray cans for example.
PS
See: Polystyrene
PTB
Abbreviation for the German Federal Institute for Physical Technology (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt); headquarters: Braunschweig.
Public health system
This refers to the public and private facilities in a country, which serve to maintain or restore and promote the health of the population. The legislation pertaining to the public health system in Germany is based on article 74 of the German Consitution and is divided between the Federal and state governments. The Federal Ministry for Family, Elderly, Women and Youth is responsible for administration of the national public health system. At state level, the state ministries of health and the senators are the guiding authorities responsible for preparing and implementing state health laws.
Pure water
Water that has undergone treatment.
PVC
See: Polyvinyl chloride.
Pyrolysis
In chemistry and processing engineering, this refers to the thermal destruction of molecular bonds with a lack of oxygen; plays an important role in cracking (gasoline production) and in recycling energy-rich wastes (plastics).