Sheets consumption trends

Lead sheet is used in the building industry throughout continental Europe and to a lesser extent Australia, but hardly at all in the USA. Other aspects of lead consumption follow the same general trends worldwide. 

Figure 4 illustrates a common trend between the CEA and GA flow sheets in energy consumption as a function of maximum process temperature. The energy requirement as a function of maximum temperature is depicted as a ratio of the value to that at the highest process temperature examined. 

It can be noted that for LDPE the capacity surpasses the consumption, while for HDPE the situation is the opposite (Table 1.5). European demand for LDPE is around 5 MMT per year and has grown by an average of 1% per year over the past 10 years. Film and sheet applications account for 73% of total consumption and in blends with LLDPE. LLDPE demand is growing more rapidly at about 8 % per year, and it is predicted to become the dominant polymer in Europe and North America. The trends in PE capacity and demand until 2012 are shown in Figure 1.4. 

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