Polyethylene annual production

In the field of plastics, the annual production of polyvinylchloride (PVC) is second only to polyethylene. PVC has long been used in various areas, ranging from agriculture and industry to medical equipment and daily life, due to its well-developed production techniques, easy processing, and low price. However, PVC has its own disadvantages, mainly its low stability toward heat and ultraviolet (UV) light. Also, pure PVC is a very hard material that cannot be easily processed and practically used. Common PVC plastics contain various amounts of plasticizers and other additives, including modifiers, stabilizers, and lubricants. 

Perhaps the most important polyester is polyethylene terephthalate), commonly known as PET (or PETE 1 on plastic beverage bottles). The annual production of PET in the United States is of the order of 108 kg (105 metric tons). Much of this is converted into fabric (trade name, Dacron) or magnetically coated film (Mylar). 

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 ... 

The application of polymeric materials in medicine is a fairly specialized area with a wide range of specific applications and requirements. Although the total volume of polymers used in this application may be small compared to the annual production of polyethylene, for example, the total amount of money spent annually on prosthetic and biomedical devices exceeds 16 billion in the United States alone. These applications include over a million dentures, nearly a half billion dental fillings, about six million contact lenses, over a million replacement joints (hip, knee, finger, etc.), about a half million plastic surgery operations (breast prosthesis, facial reconstruction, etc.), over 25,000 heart valves, and 60,000 pacemaker implantations. In addition, over AO,000 patients are on hemodialysis units (artificial kidney) on a regular basis, and over 90,000 coronary bypass operations (often using synthetic polymers) are performed each year (]J. 

Polyethylene is an important material its annual production exceeds 170 billion pounds each year. Although its composition is simple, the polymer is not easy to make. The right manufacturing conditions were identified only after many years of research. Today many forms of polyethylene, varying widely in physical properties, are known. 

The 1989 production of plastic resins in the U.S. totaled 58.2 billion pounds. Almost all of the annual production (92%) was consumed in the U.S. Eight resin types make up 83% of the annual domestic demand low density polyethylene (LDPE), 9.7 billion lbs polyvinyl chloride (PVC), 7.6 billion lbs high density polyethylene (HOPE), 7.4 billion lbs polypropylene (PP), 6.2 billion lbs polystyrene (PS), 5.0 billion lbs polyurethane (PUR), 3.2 billion lbs phenolic, 3.1 billion lbs and polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), 1.9 billion lbs. The packaging sector is the leading consumer of plastic resins at about 14 billion pounds annually. 

If R in the monomer is hydrogen, the monomer is ethylene, C2H4, and the polymer is polyethylene. Ethylene is at the heart of the petrochemical industry. Its annual production in the United States is measured in the billions of pounds. Erom that mass, billions of pounds of polyethylene are produced, equating to dozens of pounds per person each year (Eig 21.33). Polyethylene with a molar mass of about 15,000 g/mol is called low-density polyethylene (Fig. 21.34[a]). It is a supple material that folds and bends easily because the intermolecular (induced dipole) forces between the branched carbon chains are weak. These properties make it ideal for sandwich bags and trash bags. 

Each of these three business segments are considered capital intensive businesses where the cost of equipment is relatively very large compared to the fixed cost of labor to operate each business. Therefore, annual revenue per employee is relatively large. For example, a polyethylene plant with an annual production of 1-2 billion pounds of polyethylene requires a few hrmdred employees so that annual revenue per employee is about 2-4 million US dollars. 

Commercial production started at ICI in 1938, and in 1940 polyethylene production had reached 100 tons which were utilized in early wire and cable applications to build radar systems and other applications to support the war effort. One could argue that these first 100 tons of polyethylene may have been the most important polyethylene ever manufactured. Toward the end of the war, British annual production was about 1,500 tons. In 1943, the great military significance of polyethylene led both the Union Carbide and DuPont corporations to license the ICI process and begin the manufacture of polyethylene in the United States. 

If such an increase in the global middle class were to be reached by 2030, the global annual consumption of polyethylene could reach approximately 400 billion pounds over the 2009 annual production of polyethylene of about 150 billion pounds. 

After the end of World War II, polyethylene production in the United States was limited to only Union Carbide Corporation and the DuPont Company which entered the business with the support of the United States government to provide an additional source of polyethylene in support of the war effort. In 1950, the annual production in the United States was 50 million poxmds and the product demand was growing extremely rapidly. During this time, polyethylene demand outpaced the supply. 

However, the situation changed rapidly in 1952 when an antitrust suit found that ICI must license their polyethylene process to additional companies that wanted to enter into the production of polyethylene. Consequently, within the next year after the court decision, Dow Chemical, Eastman Kodak and National Petrochemical became ICI licensees. Soon, BASF in West Germany became an additional licensor of a high-pressure polyethylene process, so that by 1955 three additional companies in the United States (Spencer Chemical, Monsanto and Koppers) licensed the BASF technology. United States annual production increased rapidly. 

Almost all of the reactors in a petroleum refinery operate continuously because of the tremendous annual production rates of the various fuels, lubricants, and chemical intermediates that are manufactured in a refinery. Many well-known polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene are also produced in continuous reactors, as are many large-volume chemicals such as styrene, ethylene, ammonia, and methanol. 

Large-scale polymers (also called commodity polymers), whose annual production is in the range of millions of tons, are used daily by each of us. Polyethylene, polystyrene, poly(vinyl chloride), and some other polymers are included in this category of polymers of great economic significance ... 

Little is known of the market for acetyl chloride. The production and sales are beUeved to be small, but may have potential for very large scale-up. The total U.S. market may amount to only 500 t annually. Acetyl chloride must be shipped in polyethylene-lined dmms having capacities of only 220 L it must be labeled as a corrosive substance. Acetyl chloride generated captively from purchased raw materials probably has a unit value of no more than 0.92—0.95/kg. Shipping costs and other factors set the price at about 3/kg for the commercial trade. 

It was estimated in 1997 that by the turn of the century 185 million tonnes of ethylene would be consumed annually on a global basis but that at the same time production of polyethylene would be about 46000000t.p.a., i.e. about 25% of the total. This emphasises the fact that although polyethylene manufacture is a large outlet for ethylene the latter is widely used for other purposes. 

Anhydrous HF was first produced commercially in the USA in 1931 and in the UK from about 1942. By 1992 some eighteen countries were each producing at least 3000 tonnes pa with North America accounting for some 330000 tonnes of the estimated annual world production of about 875 000 tormes, A further 205 000 tonnes was used captively for production of AIF3. Price in 1990 was about l.50/kg for the anhydrous acid and somewhat less for 70% acid. The primary suppliers ship HF in tank-cars of 20-91-tonne capacity and the product is also repackaged in steel cylinders holding 8.0-900 kg (2.7-635 kg in the UK). Lecture bottles contain 340 g HF. The 70% acid is shipped in tank-cars of 32-80-tonne capacity, tank trucks of 20-tonne capacity, and in polyethylene-lined drums holding 114 or 208 I,... 

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