LDPE linear low density polyethylene

Figure 1 Polymer enchainment patterns occurring in polyethylene (PE), ethylene-propylene copolymer (EP), and polypropylene (PP) chains (HDPE = crystalline high-density polyethylene, LLDPE — linear low-density polyethylene, LDPE = low-density polyethylene, EP rubber = elastomeric ethylene-propylene copolymer).

Linear low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is the most important polymer, followed by (high-density polyethylene) HDPE. According to Gemaud, western Europe consumes 570,000 tons/year of agricultural LDPE, of which 350,000 tons have been used in films and tubings. 

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has the highest recycling rate of all plastics in U.S. MSW, followed by polystyrene (PS) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), as can be seen in Fig. 12.13. The most prevalent plastic in MSW is low- and linear low-density polyethylene (LDPE/LLDPE), followed by HDPE. Table 12.1 shows the amounts of the major plastic resins in U.S. MSW in 1997 and 1998 and the amounts recovered for recycling. 

The photostability of quenched linear low density polyethylene (LDPE) is superior to that of annealed linear low density polyethylene. Quenched polyethylene has crystallites smaller than those of annealed polyethylene. However, the degree of crystallinity does not depend upon the method of film preparation. Consequently, quenched linear low density polyethylene contains a greater number of tie molecules and is able to attain a higher build-up of oxidation products without causing serious damage to the tie molecules [2124]. 

Linear Low Density Polyethylene. Films from linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) resias have 75% higher tensile strength, 50% higher elongation-to-break strength, and a slightly higher but broader heat-seal initiation temperature than do films from LDPE. Impact and puncture resistance are also improved over LDPE. Water-vapor and gas-permeation properties are similar to those of LDPE films. 

LDPE = low density polyethylene LLDPE = linear low density polyethylene HDPE = high density polyethylene PP = polypropylene PVC = polyvinyl chloride PS = polystyrene ABS = polyacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene. 

In order to improve the physical properties of HDPE and LDPE, copolymers of ethylene and small amounts of other monomers such as higher olefins, ethyl acrylate, maleic anhydride, vinyl acetate, or acryUc acid are added to the polyethylene. Eor example, linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), although linear, has a significant number of branches introduced by using comonomers such as 1-butene or 1-octene. The linearity provides strength, whereas branching provides toughness. 

Resins and plastics such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HOPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ... 

High-pressure polymerization of ethylene was introduced in the 1930s. The discovery of a new titanium catalyst hy Karl Ziegler in 1953 revolutionized the production of linear unhranched polyethylene at lower pressures. The two most widely used grades of polyethylene are low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Currently,... 

The presence of long chain branches in low density polyethylene (LDPE) accounts for the difference in properties e.g. higher melt strength, greater toughness for the same average molecular weight) between LDPE and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE, made by coordination polymerization). 

The polyethylene obtained (the already cited HDPE) is more highly crystalline and more rigid and dense and has a much more regular structure than the one previously known and obtainable at very high temperature and pressure and which had been industrially produced in the previous 15 years (now called low-density polyethylene, LDPE). The latter shows macromolecules with both long and short branches and is consequently less crystalline than the almost completely linear HDPE. It is obvious that polyethylene does not present tertiary carbon atoms in its constitutional unit, hence it does not show problems of stereoisomerism. 

Ziegler-Natta polymerization leads to linear unbranched polyethylene, the so-called high density polyethylene (HDPE), which is denser, tougher and more crystalline. By copolymerization with other alkenes it is possible to obtain linear low density polyethylene (LEDPE) with better mechanical properties than LDPE. Blends of LLDPE and LDPE are used to combine the good final mechanical properties of LLDPE and the strength of LDPE in the molten state. 

The Screw Simulator was also used to measure the melting flux of TPU resins at conditions similar to those expected in the melting section of the screw. At these conditions, the melting flux was measured at 0.2 kg/(m s). This melting flux is relatively low. For example, the melting fluxes [11] for linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) resins are 0.3 and 0.4 kg/(m2- s), respectively. The relatively low melting flux for TPU resins is a contributor to the solid polymer fragments in the extrudate. 

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. 

Coordination copolymerization of ethylene with small amounts of an a-olefin such as 1-butene, 1-hexene, or 1-octene results in the equivalent of the branched, low-density polyethylene produced by radical polymerization. The polyethylene, referred to as linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), has controlled amounts of ethyl, n-butyl, and n-hexyl branches, respectively. Copolymerization with propene, 4-methyl-1-pentene, and cycloalk-enes is also practiced. There was little effort to commercialize linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) until 1978, when gas-phase technology made the economics of the process very competitive with the high-pressure radical polymerization process [James, 1986]. The expansion of this technology was rapid. The utility of the LLDPE process Emits the need to build new high-pressure plants. New capacity for LDPE has usually involved new plants for the low-pressure gas-phase process, which allows the production of HDPE and LLDPE as well as polypropene. The production of LLDPE in the United States in 2001 was about 8 billion pounds, the same as the production of LDPE. Overall, HDPE and LLDPE, produced by coordination polymerization, comprise two-thirds of all polyethylenes. 

The crystallinity of a polymer such as polyethylene typically increases as the molecular weight and the structural regularity increase but decreases as the extent of irregular branching in the polymer molecule increases. Thus because of its regular structure, hdpe, like linear paraffins, readily forms crystals. In contrast, branched or low-density polyethylene (ldpe) is less crystalline because of its more irregular structure. 

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