Polyethylene—Eastman Chemical Products

Two-inch diameter by Vs-inch thick disks injection molded from a 0.918 density TENITE Polyethylene formulation were immersed in the chemicals listed in the tabulation and stored under a constant temperature of 73 F for one year. The disks were weighed and measured at the beginning of the test period and again at the end. The percent change in weight and thickness was calculated for each chemical at the end of the test. The change in appearance was also noted. 

Chemical resistance of polyethylene is density related-improving with increasing density. Therefore, the lowest density formulation of the TENITE Polyethylene family was tested to represent the greatest change that would be expected from contact with the various chemicals. 

The Effect of Various Chemicals on TENITE Polyethylene (Exposure One year) 

Chemical Weight Thickness Appearance Chemical Weight Thickness Appearance 

Acetic Acid 5% 0.8 00 No change Hydrogen Peroxide 30% 0-0 0.0 No change 

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Tenite 3310 High density polyethylene Eastman Chemical Products, Inc. 

The polyallomers constitute the class of block copolymers where both components are capable of crystallizing independently (Coover et al, 1966 Hagenmeyer and Edwards, 1966, 1970 Eastman Chemical Products, n.d.). The most important member of this family contains crystalline, stereoregular polypropylene as the major component and polyethylene as the minor component. As expected for a block copolymer, these products differ greatly in behavior from mechanical blends of polyethylene and polypropylene, and also from their random copolymers, poly(propylene-co-ethylene). When crosslinked with a diene monomer, the latter copolymers are known as EPDM rubbers (Lee et a/., 1966 Rodriguez, 1970, Chapter 13), while the former blends are of apparently little interest. In Figure 6.28 and 6.29 the... 

Typical suppliers of fatty acid amide lubricants include Ashland Chemical Inc., C. P. Hall Co., and Witco Corp. Typical suppliers of fatty acid esters include Akzo Chemical Inc., Eastman Chemical Products, and ICI Americas Inc. Typical suppliers of metallic stearates include Hammond Lead Products, Inc., Harwich Chemical Corp., and Witco Corp. Typical suppliers of molybdenum disulfide include Acheson Colloids Co., CSA Chemicals, and Specialty Products Co. Typical suppliers of paraffin waxes include Astor Wax Corp. C. P. Hall Co., and Hoechst Celanese Corp. Typical suppliers of polyethylene waxes inclnde Astor Wax Co., Eastman Chemical Products and Exxon Chemical Co. Typical suppliers of silicone lubricants include Ashland Chemical Inc., Dow Coming Corp. and Wacker Silicones Corp. Typical suppliers of fluorocarbon lubricants include Acheson Colloids Co., DuPont, and Harwich Chemical Corp. 

TABLE 1.36 POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE-BASED COPOLYESTER-EASTMAN CHEMICAL PRODUCTS... 

Polyethylene Homopolymers Eastman Chemical Products USI Chemicals Co. 

Energx A process for making LLDPE (linear low-density polyethylene). Developed by Eastman Chemical in the 1990s and used at its plant in Longview, TX. Licensed to Chevron Chemical in 1999 for use at its plant in Baytown, TX. By 2002, licenses had been granted in Europe, North America, and Asia. A variation, Energx-DCX, uses a supported catalyst (Sylopol DCX) made by W.R. Grace. The polyethylene products have the trade name Hifor. 

IntegRex A process for making polyethylene terephthalate, developed by Eastman Chemical, announced in 2004. It integrates the PX-PTA process with the PTA-PET process. It uses an aqueous solution of tere-phthalic acid instead of the solid acid. Johnson Matthey has developed a special catalyst for it. The first plant was built in S. Carolina in 2006. There was a patent dispute between Eastman Chemical and Wellman regarding the resin product, trade named ParaStar. The process was sold to DAK Americas in 2011 who licensed it to Alpek in 2013. 

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. 

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