Editing Thermoplastic (section)

==Acrylic==
Today's acrylics industry can be divided into two distinct multibillion-dollar markets: the [[polyacrylic acid]]s (PAA) and its ester derivatives (PAc) market, and the [[poly(methyl methacrylate)]] (PMMA) market.<ref>'' Handbook of Thermoplastics'', Second Edition, O. Olabisi & K. Adewale (Ed.) CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, Florida, U. S. A. {{ISBN|978-1-4665-7722-0}}, 2016</ref> PMMA is also known by trade names such as Lucite, Perspex and Plexiglas. It serves as a sturdy substitute for glass for items such as aquariums, buttons, motorcycle helmet visors, aircraft windows, viewing ports of submersibles, and lenses of exterior lights of automobiles. It is extensively used to make signs, including lettering and logos. In medicine, it is used in bone cement and to replace eye lenses. Acrylic paint consists of PMMA particles suspended in water.

For many decades, PMMA has been the predominant methacrylic ester produced worldwide. Major players in the PMMA market are Mitsubishi Rayon (Japan), Arkema SA (France), LG MMA (South Korea), Chi Mei Corp. (Taiwan), Sumimoto Chemical Company Ltd (Japan), Evonik Industries (Germany), BASF (Germany), Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), AkzoNobel (The Netherlands), Quinn Plastics (UK) and Cytec Industries (U.S.). Regarding the PAA and PAc market, key manufacturers are Nippon Shokubai Company Ltd. (Japan), Arkema SA (France) and Dow Chemical Company (U.S.).