High-density polyethylene , manufacture

Commonly, nowadays, the active catalyst (based on chromium, titanium or vanadium) used in high density polyethylene manufacture is adsorbed on to a highly porous silica support. Determination of the silica catalyst support content of the final polymer gives an assessment of the economic productivity of the reactor, ie. its output of polyethylene per g of catalyst and also enables the very low concentration of active catalyst metal in the polymer to be calculated... 

Table 6 shows the sales estimates for principal film and sheet products for the year 1990 (14). Low density polyethylene films dominate the market in volume, followed by polystyrene and the vinyls. High density polyethylene, poly(ethylene terephthalate), and polypropylene are close in market share and complete the primary products. A number of specialty resins are used to produce 25,000—100,000 t of film or sheet, and then there are a large number of high priced, high performance materials that serve niche markets. The original clear film product, ceUophane, has faUen to about 25,000 t in the United States, with only one domestic producer. Table 7 Hsts some of the principal film and sheet material manufacturers in the United States.

Plastic materials represent less than 10% by weight of all packagiag materials. They have a value of over 7 biUion including composite flexible packagiag about half is for film and half for botties, jars, cups, tubs, and trays. The principal materials used are high density polyethylene (HDPE) for botties, low density polyethylene for film, polypropylene (PP) for film, and polyester for both botties and films. Plastic resias are manufactured by petrochemical companies, eg. Union Carbide and Mobil Chemical for low density polyethylene (LDPE), Solvay for high density polyethylene, Himont for polypropylene, and Shell and Eastman for polyester. 

Flashspun high density polyethylene fabrics have been commercial since the 1960s however, this is a proprietary and radically different process of manufacturing a spunbonded fabric, more technically challenging to produce, and highly capital intensive. 

High density polyethylene (HDPE) is defined by ASTM D1248-84 as a product of ethylene polymerisation with a density of 0.940 g/cm or higher. This range includes both homopolymers of ethylene and its copolymers with small amounts of a-olefins. The first commercial processes for HDPE manufacture were developed in the early 1950s and utilised a variety of transition-metal polymerisation catalysts based on molybdenum (1), chromium (2,3), and titanium (4). Commercial production of HDPE was started in 1956 in the United States by Phillips Petroleum Company and in Europe by Hoechst (5). HDPE is one of the largest volume commodity plastics produced in the world, with a worldwide capacity in 1994 of over 14 x 10 t/yr and a 32% share of the total polyethylene production. 

The chemical iadustry manufactures a large variety of semicrystalline ethylene copolymers containing small amounts of a-olefins. These copolymers are produced ia catalytic polymerisation reactions and have densities lower than those of ethylene homopolymers known as high density polyethylene (HDPE). Ethylene copolymers produced ia catalytic polymerisation reactions are usually described as linear ethylene polymers, to distiaguish them from ethylene polymers containing long branches which are produced ia radical polymerisation reactions at high pressures (see Olefin POLYMERS, LOWDENSITY polyethylene). 

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. 

By permission, Norton Chemical Process Products Corp., Bull. SI-72 and Bull. PTP-1 other manufacturer s data are equivalent, f Also available in polypropylene (including glass reinforced) high density polyethylene, rigid PVC, fluorinated vinyls. 

Gas phase olefin polymerizations are becoming important as manufacturing processes for high density polyethylene (HOPE) and polypropylene (PP). An understanding of the kinetics of these gas-powder polymerization reactions using a highly active TiCi s catalyst is vital to the careful operation of these processes. Well-proven models for both the hexane slurry process and the bulk process have been published. This article describes an extension of these models to gas phase polymerization in semibatch and continuous backmix reactors. 

The main use of propylene is for polymerization to polypropylene, a process similar to the manufacture of high-density polyethylene (i.e., a low-pressure, catalytic process). Textile hhers made from polypropylene are relatively low-cost and have particularly good properties, such as high resistance to abrasion and soiling for use in furniture upholstery and indoor/outdoor carpeting. 

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. 

What characteristics of high density polyethylene make it suitable for the manufacture of rigid pipe What limitations would there be in the use of this pipe ... 

Gas-phase inhibitors, 10 649 Gas-phase manufacture, of high density polyethylene, 20 169-170 Gas-phase mass transfer coefficient (krj, 1 37-38... 

In 1953, Ziegler in Germany, Phillips Petroleum Co. (USA) and Standard Oil Co. (USA) were able to discover the process of manufacturing polyethylene by avoiding the use of high pressure. The polyethylene so obtained is termed as the high density polyethylene. 

The high-density polyethylene is linear and can be manufactured by (i) coordination polymerisation of monomer by triethyl aluminium and tritanium chloride, (ii) polymerisation with supported Metal Oxide Catalysts. Such as chromium or molybdenum oxides supported over alumina-silica bases. 

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. 

Mixed C4 olefins (primarily iC4) are isolated from a mixed C olefin and paraffin stream. Two different liquid adsorption high-purity C olefin processes exist the C4 Olex process for producing isobutylene (iCf ) and the Sorbutene process for producing butene-1. Isobutylene has been used in alcohol synthesis and the production of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and isooctane, both of which improve octane of gasoHne. Commercial 1-butene is used in the manufacture of both hnear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE)., polypropylene, polybutene, butylene oxide and the C4 solvents secondary butyl alcohol (SBA) and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). While the C4 Olex process has been commercially demonstrated, the Sorbutene process has only been demonstrated on a pilot scale. 

In 1989, the NDF Company opened a facility in Georgetown, South Carolina to produce low density polyethylene. Manufacturing of the polyethylene is done in two 50-ton reactors that are encased individually within their own 8-story-high process unit. The main raw materials for the manufacturing operations include ethylene, hexane, and hutene. The polymerization is completed in the presence of a catalyst. The hase chemicals for the catalyst are aluminum alkyl and isopentane. The reactor and catalyst preparation areas are on a distributed control system (DCS). A simplihed process flow diagram is attached. 

Ethylene Polymers. Depending on the polymerization conditions, three major types of polyethylene are manufactured low-density polyethylene (LDPE) by free-radical polymerization, linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) by copolymerization of ethylene with terminal olefins, and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) by coordination polymerization. The processes yield polymers with different characteristics (molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, melt index, strength, crystallinity, density, processability). 

The new polypropylene processes do not require solvents because of a new and highly efficient catalyst [12]. Therefore, there are also no solvent emissions in the exhaust gases. Small amounts of gaseous hydrocarbons that are formed are incinerated. In the manufacture of the polymer the amount of aqueous wastewater accumulated is much smaller, since the amount of catalyst used can be reduced to such low levels that it no longer needs to be washed after the reaction. Comparable results have also been achieved in the manufacture of high-density polyethylene. 

Random ethylene copolymers with small amounts (4-10 wt-%) of 7-olefins, e.g. 1-butene, 1-hexene, 1-octene and 4-methyl- 1-pentene, are referred to as linear low-density polyethylene, which is a commercially relevant class of polyolefins. Such copolymers are prepared by essentially the same catalysts used for the synthesis of high-density polyethylene [241]. Small amounts of a-olefin units incorporated in an ethylene copolymer have the effect of producing side chains at points where the 7-olefin is inserted into the linear polyethylene backbone. Thus, the copolymerisation produces short alkyl branches, which disrupt the crystallinity of high-density polyethylene and lower the density of the polymer so that it simulates many of the properties of low-density polyethylene manufactured by high-pressure radical polymerisation of ethylene [448] (Figure 2.3). 

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