Melamine

Melamine formaldehyde resins ( Formica )

FM resins had already been developed in the Années 1930 and 40 by companies Multinationale S such as Ciba ® and Henkel ® but without commercial real success.

Its exceptional properties of heat strength, to the light, the chemicals, abrasion and fire explain its success in the immediate future Après-guerre.

Its principal derivative: laminated sheets, obtained under pressure and then decorated, more known under the trade name of Formica®, was very largely used in the kitchens, bars, restaurants… for its very great maintainability.

In the Années 1950, Formica ® (supposed “to release the Housewife”) developed a passion such, that many old pieces of furniture, often remarkable, purely and were simply put in discharge.

Two other important applications were manufacture:

of goblets, plates, unbreakable covers largely used for the babies and the Camp-site as well as the manufacture of Gadget S cheap (ashtrays, key-ring…);

of Telephone S and small electric objects (catches, switches…).

All applications to which the Melamine (which replaced in these uses the more breakable Bakélite) lent itself particularly well.

In the years 1990, the more resistant ABS and more brilliance tends little by little to replace the melamine which alas is a Thermodurcissable: it cannot be formatted after polymerization any more.

The ABS, thermoplastic noble (as the Nylon) owes its success with the excellent properties coming from alliance “resin + elastomer” which gives a brilliant matter, esthetic, very resistant to the stripes, easy to clean. It is very much used in the bathrooms and industry.

What will be the plastic S of the future? The request is exerted towards very diversified compounds: more transparent, unbreakable, non flammable, etc… With industry to answer these requirements.

Melamine in the food

Since the beginning of the years at least 1990, and mainly in China, melamine was usually added to animal food (cattle, even pets) in order to expensive sell them thanks to an important increase in weight with reduced cost.

In March 2007, an agro-alimentary scandal made known this fact in North America, with the recall of a hundred marks of animal food containing of the Gluten of Blé contaminated by melamine, illegal Adjuvant in the USA. One month later, the Chinese government stated to banish this practice. The melamine could under certain conditions of blocking the renal functions, according to researchers of the Université of Guelph (Ontario), which would explain some dead of Chien S and Chat S having consumed this food, of melamine having been detected in the Urine or the Rein S of died cats, as well as Cyanuric acid (metabolic by-product of melamine), these two made up reacting by forming crystals being able to block the renal function, according to researchers of Université of Guelph. Menu Foods has on March 16th, 2007 recalled to 60 million boxes of food for dogs and cats produced in the USA with imported food, sold under 95 different marks to the USA, Canada and Mexico; after at least 14 animals died abnormally, of renal failures in the majority of the cases. More than 8000 complaints were deposited with the FDA the following weeks, for some, in collective name, the United States and in Canada.

Internal bonds

Urea-formaldehyde, on English Wikipedia

External bonds

Of fish contaminated with the melamine
contaminated Poisson of breeding
Of melamine in feedingstuffs

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