Experimental Methods for Polyethylene Research Program

The growth in the polyethylene industry since the 1940s has been due to the development of new technology primarily in the area of new catalysts and the polymerization processes necessary to manufacture the polyethylene prepared from these catalysts. These innovations were responsible for the introduction of a wide variety of polyethylene structures that were developed for new applications. 

It was evident in the beginning of the polyethylene industry in the mid-1930s that the scientists in the research laboratories at Imperial Chemicals Industries (ICI) relied on a imified effort from scientists with a wide variety of different skills to commercialize polyethylene. Such cooperation between scientists and engineers has always been a key component necessary for growth in the polyethylene industry. 

As new catalyst technology emerged over the past 65 years for the low-pressure manufacture of polyethylene, scientists that specialize in different areas of the polyethylene industry continued to utilize coordinated teams to commercialize new polyethylene technology. This approach is often seen by 

New technology advances through three developmental stages are summarized in Table 7.1. 

Once a new catalyst/product has been identified for evaluation at the manufacturing facility for a commercial trial, the technology teams are expanded to include technical representatives from the polyethylene manufacturing center. These new members will be responsible for implementing the new technology at the commercial scale. For example, a new catalyst needs to be produced in large-scale catalyst preparation facilities in order to produce sufficient catalyst for a commercial trial. This commercial quantity of catalyst is then tested in pilot plant operations to produce polyethylene samples for fabrication into finished products in order to verify that the expected product grades have been produced by the catalyst that will be evaluated in a commercial reactor. 

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