Talk:Melamine resin

melamine dinnerware
This is pathetic! There should be major coverage of melamine dinnerware. Significant cultural-historical subject. Popular dinnerware for middle-class US daily use in 1950s? Very durable and practical, good for institutional use; still in use. Prolon currently makes heavy-duty versions for the foodservice industry, in Port Gibson, Mississippi. They say it is not microwave-safe, warning: "Do not place ... in a standard or microwave oven. Do not expose to dry heat in excess of 185 degrees F or direct flame."

Title?
The title of the article is a problem. How is other dinnerware covered in WP? Should the title be changed, or should there be a separate article? -69.87.203.39 (talk) 22:57, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Microwave safety issue?
Not microwave safe? bollocks, i cooked my lunch in a melamine bowl in the microwave yesterday, and i'm still here to tell the story. if it doesn't melt, why isn't it safe? so it gets hot in the microwave, so does food, that's the idea! pfft... ninnies 58.108.36.115 (talk) 07:38, 31 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Just because something doesn't melt, doesn't mean it's safe. Heating certain compounds to excessive temperatures (or irradiating them with certain wavelengths) may cause them to break down into more harmful substances. This is the reason why manufacturers employ chemists and the like to test products. This is not to say that such testing is foolproof... And one or several "lunchtime" exposures may well do one no apparent harm. What would one expect? Sudden death? Microwaves are designed to heat food, and not all materials are microwave safe. This is why manufacturers of microwave ovens and cookware include instructions. Sheesh... Freestyle-69 (talk) 05:19, 23 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Melamine binds with amino acids (such as in proteins) under microwave irradiation as it heats, IIRC. It seems like it could be capable of making a variety of changes to the molecules in food in a microwave, some may be very undesirable. Additionally, if the stuff does heat to the point of breaking down, undesirable compounds may enter the food. I think its also dishwasher-unsafe in some respects for the same reasons of degradation, isn't it?Zaphraud (talk) 23:20, 19 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I assumed that the reason melamine dinnerware was such a good microwave susceptor was because the opacifying agent was a ceramic with chemically combined water. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.215.115.31 (talk) 19:19, 31 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Article's previous version misquoted its source, Anne Field. Field says, "It ...  absorbs heat and softens if it gets too hot so cannot be used in microwave ovens. ... Avoid exposure to hot objects, and prolonged exposure to boiling water."  That is, Field doesn't specify whether the microwaves heat melamine directly.  Her article would also be consistent with an interpretation that contact with hot food is the problem.  Therefore, I deleted the words "as they absorb microwave radiation and heat up".  (About ref. to Field: I'm not skilled enough at editing to format the reference properly here, but URL is http://www.msue.msu.edu/objects/content_revision/download.cfm/revision_id.493538/workspace_id.-4/01500096.html and a proper citation is on the article page.)   Oaklandguy (talk) 02:52, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Source of melamine contamination?
With the very public crises and scandals in 2007 and 2008 surrounding the addition of melamine to pet foods and dairy products in China, the question naturally arises in many minds of whether melamine dinnerware poses any risk to humans. I'm in no position to say whether it does or doesn't. Perhaps the polymerization with formaldehyde produces something so safe as to be of no concern. Or perhaps melamine can leach into food on a plate and cause kidney damage. It would be great if someone with appropriate knowledge could add something to this article to address issues such as these. —Preceding unsigned comment added by CharleyCross (talk • contribs) 04:53, 23 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Storm in a tea-cup, as long as you don't live in China or other developing nation with poor regulatory processes. The polymerisation is almost definitely irreversible, and the product safe, but see comment above. Freestyle-69 (talk) 05:19, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

In light of the study published online linking melamine and kidney stones, how can the consumer find out about specific products/brand names/big-box distributors of plates, bowls, mugs, plastic bottles, plastic storage containers, etc. which contain melamine? As with bisphenol-A, shouldn't there be a manufacturer-wide labeling system to warn consumers of dinerware and other plastics containing melamine? Redflash1 (talk) 09:59, 24 January 2013 (UTC)

Chemical Structure
Can someone verify the chemical structure given? If its a reaction between an aldehyde and an amine residue one would expect imine bonds in the structure but I only see single bonds. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.207.35.245 (talk) 09:17, 23 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Sure; the H2CO bonds with an NH2 from both sides, with the removal of the oxygen from the H2CO and a hydrogen from either amine; so in this case you get two single bonds to two different nitrogens instead of one double bond to a single nitrogen.Zaphraud (talk) 23:20, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

ELECTRICAL APPLICATIONS:- Melemamine resin has excellent resistance to both arc discharge and carbon tracking, the latter commending its use to applications such as as distributor caps. It has been used as printed circuit board material.Jester mclarpet (talk) 14:39, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

date (etc) it was invented/developed/discovered?
I'd love to see some info about when, where, how and by whom it was invented. I have a source here (that's not very academic, sadly) that says early 1940s. Anyone got anything better? Thanks very much.--TyrS (talk) 13:44, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Properties
Some properties would be nice, eg: strengths and weaknesses

86.14.39.133 (talk) 18:12, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

Structure seems suspect
The structure shown in the upper right corner seems incorrect. Resins derived from formaldehyde have linkages -CH2-X-CH2=X, not strings of CH2's. --Smokefoot (talk) 12:33, 26 July 2015 (UTC)
 * ✅--Smokefoot (talk) 17:30, 28 January 2018 (UTC)

Lit report on melamine resin
Relevant to why Wikipedia uses WP:SECONDARY, here is the report from Chemical Abstracts search of "melamine resin: references=42061>refine "English" =10012>refine "Review"=80. It is a big area.--Smokefoot (talk) 17:30, 28 January 2018 (UTC)

safety is not covered properly
all i know is that melamine came up in a major food safety scandal (a comment above says it was in 2007-8) and that formaldehyde is a big health hazard. none of this seems to get any attention in the article which i think is a big miss. safetywise theres only this "it is not microwave safe" statement, which would need more explanation: at least concerning whether it just destroys your bowl or it poisons your food as well would be relevant information. 89.134.199.32 (talk) 22:00, 24 January 2019 (UTC).

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 04:23, 26 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Vignelli Dinnerware for Heller (Hellerware).jpg

"Curing" section
In this section is contained the following sentence: "The crosslinking can be carried out to a limited degree to give resins."

Is this a complete sentence? It seems as if something not mentioned is supposed to happen, judging from the phrase "carried out to a limited degree to give resins." Give resins what, exactly? Or is this a reaction of some sort? I suggest this sentence should be rewritten to make it more clear. Comments? Erzahler (talk) 12:50, 9 April 2024 (UTC)