High density polyethylene applications

Polypropylene polymers are typically modified with ethylene to obtain desirable properties for specific applications. Specifically, ethylene—propylene mbbers are introduced as a discrete phase in heterophasic copolymers to improve toughness and low temperature impact resistance (see Elastomers, ETHYLENE-PROPYLENE rubber). This is done by sequential polymerisation of homopolymer polypropylene and ethylene—propylene mbber in a multistage reactor process or by the extmsion compounding of ethylene—propylene mbber with a homopolymer. Addition of high density polyethylene, by polymerisation or compounding, is sometimes used to reduce stress whitening. In all cases, a superior balance of properties is obtained when the sise of the discrete mbber phase is approximately one micrometer. Examples of these polymers and their properties are shown in Table 2. Mineral fillers, such as talc or calcium carbonate, can be added to polypropylene to increase stiffness and high temperature properties, as shown in Table 3. 

Although the above applications consume over 90% of the polyethylene produced there are a number of other important end-uses. Filament for ropes, fishing nets and fabrics are an important outlet for high-density polyethylene powdered polymers are used for dip coating, flame spraying, rotational moulding and other outlets, whilst fabricated sheet is important in chemical plant. 

Mention may also be made of an application in which careful control of polymer morphology has led to the production of novel materials. By treatment of solutions of high-density polyethylene, products are obtained with a celluloselike morphology and which are known as, fibrides or synthetic wood pulp. They are used for finishing paper and special boards to impart such features as sealability and improved wet strength. They are also reported to be used for such diverse applications as tile adhesives, thixotropic agents, battery separators and teabags ... 

The Phillips process for the manufacture of high-density polyethylene may be adapted to produce copolymers of ethylene with small amounts of propylene or but-l-ene and copolymers of this type have been available since 1958. These soon found application in blown containers and for injection moulding. Properties of two grades of such copolymers are compared with two grades of Phillips-type homopolymer in Table 11.11. 

Polyethylene-based membranes are manufactured for use in hazardous waste landfills, lagoons, and similar applications. Two of these products have been tested to determine their effectiveness as barriers against radon diffusion. (In most cases, diffusive flow is considered of little or no significance as a mechanism of radon entry compared with convective flow). A 20-mil high-density polyethylene tested 99.9% effective in blocking radon diffusion under neutral pressure conditions. A 30-mil low-density polyethylene tested 98% effective in blocking radon diffusion under neutral pressure conditions. 

Wang, M., Hench, L.L. and Bonfield, W. (1998) Bioglass/high density polyethylene composite for soft tissue applications Preparation and evaluation. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, 42, 577-586. 

Surface fluorination changes the polymer surface drastically, the most commercially significant use of polymer surface direct fluorination is the creation of barriers against hydrocarbon permeation. The effectiveness of such barriers is enormous, with reductions in permeation rates of two orders of magnitude. Applications that exploit the enhanced barrier properties of surface-fluorinated polymers include (1) Polymer containers, e.g., gas tanks in cars and trucks, which are produced mostly from high-density polyethylene, where surface fluorination is used to decrease the permeation of fuel to the atmosphere and perfume bottles. (2) Polymeric membranes, to improve selectivity commercial production of surface-fluorinated membranes has already started.13... 

High density extruded planks, 23 404 High density lipoproteins (HDLs), 5 135-137 10 829 niacin and, 25 798 High density polyethylene (HDPE), 10 596-595 11 225 16 21 17 724 20 149-179 24 267, 268. See also HDPE entries analysis of, 19 566 as barrier polymer, 3 377 bimodal reactor technology for, 20 170 blow molding of, 20 171-172 blown film applications, 20 173-174 catalysts used for, 20 152-155 chemical resistance of, 20 166 commercial applications of,... 

A vast number of polymer compounds are available commercially. Generally they are known by their polymer type in full or abbreviated (e.g., acrylic, polyvinyl chloride or PVC, high density polyethylene or HDPE), and frequently by a manufacturer s trade name. There is little standardisation into classes based on chemical composition or physical performance, as there is for metals. In reality, a particular chemical composition does not fully define the physical properties, while each class of performance properties can be met by a range of competing polymer types. The current trend is towards further diversification polymer compounds are increasingly being tailored to a particular application. Only in industries where recycling is an issue is there pressure for a more limited number of polymers, which can be identified and separated at the end of product life. 

Low- and high-density polyethylene, polypropene, and polymers of other alkene (olefin) monomers constitute the polyolefin family of polymers. All except LDPE are produced by coordination catalysts. Coordination catalysts are also used to produce linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), which is essentially equivalent to LDPE in structure, properties, and applications (Sec. 8-1 lc). The production figures given above for LDPE do not include LLDPE. The production of LLDPE now exceeds that of LDPE, with about 10 billion pounds produced in 2001 in the United States. (Copolymers constitute about one-quarter of all low density polyethylenes see Sec. 6-8b.)... 

A significant fraction, more than 25%, of the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) (Sec. 3-14a) produced by radical polymerization consists of various copolymers of ethylene. LDPE has come under increasing economic pressure in recent years because of a combination of factors [Doak, 1986]. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) has displaced LDPE in applications such as blow-molded bottles and thin films where the increased strength of HDPE is preferred over the clarity of LDPE. Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) (Sec. 8-1 lc) competes effectively with LDPE in terms of both cost and properties. New producers of ethylene have entered the LDPE market because of a lack of alternatives for their feedstocks. Many LDPE producers use copolymerization as a strategy to obtain products more resistant to displacement by HDPE and LLDPE. 

A second example is the yellow pyrazolone salt, Pigment Yellow 191 [129423-54-7]. It is the calcium salt of diazotized 2-amino-4-chloro-5-methyl-benzenesulfonic acid coupled with 3-methyl-1-[3 —sulfophenyl]-5-pyrazolone and provides a reddish yellow pigment for use in plastics applications. It shows very good heat stability and excellent resistance to nonpolar solvents and commonly used plasticizers (qv). It finds applications in high density polyethylene, polystyrene, and ABS, and shows satisfactory lightfastness. 

Recent results in improving keeping quality of citrus fruit by individually wrapping them in high density polyethylene await additional confirmation and application to commercial practices. 

One of the advantages of the FTIR spectrometer is the facility of sample preparation procedure. It is possible to press powder into pellet. In this method, different diluents (matrixes) can be selected for several applications. For mid-IR frequency range, KBr, KC1, or diamond dust can be used. For far-infrared testing, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or diamond dust is suitable. For near-infrared analysis, Csl or KBr can be selected or mulls may be used as alternatives to pellets. The sample... 

Polyethylene (PE) is the largest synthetic commodity polymer in terms of annual production and is widely used throughout the world in a variety of applications. Based on the density, PE is classified as LDPE at 0.910-0.930g/cm3, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) at 0.931-0.970g/cm3, and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) based on the polymer chain microstructure. At present, processes that produce PE use the following raw materials ... 

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