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Sometimes even though certain products that I bought come with a "PP 5" marking on it, I suspect it may not be the case, so I wanna know, is there a relatively safe and accurate way to tell if certain material is really Polypropylene, with easily available appliances or no extra equipment at all?

BTW you can damage and sample so said products.

VictorCharlie23
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  • Probably IR. I remember an article recently in the Nachrichten aus der Chemie … – Jan Nov 01 '17 at 10:34
  • The question is what analytical tools you have at your disposal. In general, nearly all polymers, except for polyethylenes and polypropylenes, drown in water. So it really a matter of distinguishing between PEs and PPs. PP would burn similarly to PE, but burning PP accompanied by streaks (one can pull the thread from the melt). The smell is more acute, similar to the smell of burnt rubber or sealing wax. – andselisk Nov 01 '17 at 12:46
  • @andselisk Thats quite brilliant really, I'm going to hold out a bit longer and wait for more answers. On a slightly related note, PP is the least toxic plastic, right? – VictorCharlie23 Nov 02 '17 at 03:00
  • @VictorCharlie23 I'd say plastic toxicity greatly depends on what it's being treated with, and also manufacturing process plays important role (leftovers of metal complex catalysts, monomers and plasticizers are usually way more toxic than the plastic itself). But in general yes, PP is not the worst polymer in terms of toxicity. – andselisk Nov 02 '17 at 03:33
  • Haha, thank you, can you recommend a book which I can read on these materials? Even specialized and professional ones will do :) – VictorCharlie23 Nov 02 '17 at 06:27

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