
PMMA sheets can be produced as cast sheets (direct polymerisation of MMA) or as extruded sheets using molten PMMA beads or pellets as starting material. PMMA in the form of sheets, affords shatter resistant panels for building windows, skylights, bullet proof security barriers, signs & displays, sanitary ware (bathtubs), LCD screens, furniture and many other applications. In the form of pellets or beads, PMMA can be moulded into an almost infinite range of end use products such as: rear-lights and instrument clusters for vehicles, appliances and lenses for glasses. Of specific interest is the ability of PMMA to split back into its monomer under suitable conditions (Back-cracking) thereby offering excellent recycling opportunities. Hardly any other plastic can provide these unrivalled properties (optical transparency, stability against sunlight and air-oxidation, no discoloration). PMMA also called ‘ acrylic glass’ is a highly transparent long lasting plastic which is used in many end products and appliances where it stays for a long time with unchanged properties.In Europe, MMA is industrially produced from acetone cyanohydrin (ACH), itself obtained from acetone (C3) using a process known as the ACH Process. MMA can be manufactured using different industrial processes based either on ethylene (C2), Ppopylene (C3) or isobutylene (C4) petrochemical feedstock. Other methacrylate monomers are produced by using MMA as a key raw material.
#Ema vs mma series
Its versatility allows it to be used to produce a pure homopolymer (poly-methyl methacrylate or acrylic glas – PMMA) or, in combination with other monomers, to obtain a series of polymers with various and valuable properties. Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is by far the most produced methacrylate monomer.

Today, it is estimated that more than three million tons of methacrylates are produced and transformed every year in the world These polymers are then used as raw materials or components in the manufacture of a wide range of formulations or objects that we use in our everyday life, especially when stability, durability, hardness and scratch resistance are needed. Methacrylates are used as building blocks to make a wide range of polymers.
