Polypropylene

Jared Spaniol Jack Rulander Mike Leo

Common Uses Polypropylene has a vast array of uses, spanning many industries. Since polypropylene can be injection molded, extrusion molded, and thermoformed it can be used to make almost any product for any industry. It can be seen in a wide variety of everyday applications such as food storage containers, water bottles, and car components. Philips Sumika, in particular manufactures thermoformed cups, disposable containers, and deli containers along with a variety of automotive parts. Examples of automotive components made from polypropylene include instrument panels, fender liners, and brake/coolant reservoirs, among many others. Another major industry for polypropylene is the textile industry since it is a very versatile fiber forming material. More than one third of the total polypropylene produced in the U.S. is used for fiber and fiber-related products. Syntech produces polypropylene fibers and yarns, trademark named Duralane. Duralane is ideal for home upholstery, automotive, carpets, apparel, and industrial applications. Apparel applications for Duralane include jeans, active wear, undergarments, and socks. It is also used in industrial applications for ropes, webbings, filter fabrics, and geotextiles. Polypropylene is used to make rope, twine, non-electric fuses for initiating explosives in the mining industry, and surgical disposable fabric in the medical field. Polypropylene fibers are also used in the home and businesses for carpet, upholstery, and many clothing products such as diapers and extreme cold clothing. Specific Properties Polypropylene has many properties that make it useful in various industries such as living hinge applications, excellent chemical resistance, high impact strength, inexpensive, and low density. The light, inexpensive, and high impact strength properties make it ideal for food storage containers like Ziploc and Tupperware. The chemical resistance property makes polypropylene perfect for automotive fluid reservoirs. Polypropylene also has a melting point of 320 F making it good for use in the medical industry since it can be sterilized in an autoclave. The textile industry mainly takes advantage of polypropylenes low specific gravity of .93 which makes it the lightest of all textile fibers. This low specific gravity makes it possible for polypropylene to produce fill with 20-40% less fiber than fabrics made from nylon, wool, acrylic, and polyester. Other inherent characteristics of polypropylene that make it a valuable asset to the textile industry include high strength, resistant to microorganism deterioration, low moisture absorption, resistant to chemicals, durable, good washability, quick drying, colorfast, comfortable, low static, non-allergenic, stain, soil, and odor resistant. The textile industry also uses it because of its ease of processing and inexpensiveness compared to other synthetic fibers. Polypropylene fibers have a very low thermal conductivity making them able to retain more heat for a longer period of time. This, combined with the excellent insulative properties keeps the wearer drier and warmer than any other material, including wool. The textile industry takes advantage of its excellent chemical resistance to acids and alkalis, and low moisture absorption which aids in the quick transport of moisture. The low moisture absorption or hydrophobic property also contributes to the dimensional stability because the dimensions do not change with varying humidity or

when the fibers become wet. This also makes the fibers very resistant to any water soluble stains and also makes the fibers very quick drying. Potential Uses The potential uses for polypropylene are vast since polypropylene is one of the lightest, most durable and versatile plastics. One drawback of polypropylene is it has a low dyeability because the molecular chains have no polar functional groups and relatively high crystallinity. This prevents dye molecules from being chemically attracted to the fibers. Dyeable polypropylene is a desire of most fiber producers. It exists in a very limited capacity from KromaLon polymer technology developed by Equistar Chemical but is a long way from commercialization for apparel and the home. The marketing technologies and additive packages of the future will dictate whether this problem can be solved. With varying combinations of different additive packages and fiber developments polypropylene is breaking into the activewear market like no other polymer. These fibers are traditionally seen in the high sweat sports such as running, cycling, and aerobics because they feature sweat wicking, permanent color, and antimicrobial advantages. Coville Inc. developed a polypropylene lined wet suit for divers that minimized microbe growth on the skin while drying from the inside out. This was developed by combing antimicrobial filament polypropylene with spandex to create a warmth layer and utilize the wicking capacity of polypropylene along with a resistance to microbes made possible by additive technology. Niche Market Polypropylene has a very specific niche market. It is used as a living hinge due to its excellent fatigue resistance and high strength. Ease of manufacturing makes living hinges quite common in disposable packaging. A living hinge is a hinge without any moving parts used to connect two pieces of a plastic part and allow them to flex for opening and closing purposes. The hinges can typically flex more than a million times before failure. Hinges can be made from any polypropylene resin including homopolymers, impact copolymers, and random copolymers. Injection molding is the most common means to manufacture living hinges, although other processes such as blow molding, extrusion, and stamping can be used. Specific Purpose Giulio Natta was the man who actually developed polypropylene. He drew most of his research from Karl Ziegler, who developed polyethylene. Natta set out to create a high molecular weight polypropylene. He chose propylene because it was cheaper and more readily available than ethylene. In 1954, Natta was working for an Italian research group, Montecatini. It was in this year that they succeeded in creating a polypropylene with a high durability, heat resistance, and tensile strength.

Melt Temperature Range The typical melt temperature range for polypropylene is 420-540 F. There are, however, some types that fall outside that range. For example, the RTP 100 Series EMI Shielding Compounds Polypropylene has a melt temperature range of 380-430 F. Barrel Settings Different types of polypropylene need different barrel temperature settings. Unspecified polypropylene should have rear, middle, and front barrel temperatures in the range of 400-478 F. The nozzle temperature should fall in the range of 365-475 F. High crystallinity polypropylene barrel temperatures should be 354-374 F for the rear, 390429 F for the middle, 410-464 F for the front, and 392-455 F for the nozzle. Other types of polypropylene such as PP Alloy, PP Copolymer, PP Homopolymer, PP Impact Copolymer, PP Random Copolymer, and PP HMS all have different barrel temperature settings, but are generally fairly close to each other. Typical Pressures The maximum injection pressure for unspecified polypropylene ranges from 8260-12500 psi. High crystallinity polypropylene requires a high injection pressure, falling in the range of 11000-24900 psi. Impact copolymer polypropylene is much less at 8500-9500 psi. Just like previously stated with the barrel settings, different types of polypropylene require different maximum injection pressures. Typical hold pressures for polypropylene range from 4000-10000 psi. This too varies with the type of polypropylene. Back pressures are typically between 250-1000 psi. A higher back pressure will increase the screw recovery time and allow for better mixing of additives. Fill Rates Depending on which type of polypropylene, the fill rate can normally range between .5-2 in/sec. Usually a faster fill rate will give better results than a slow fill rate. Fill rates should be set as high as possible to reduce the cycle time, but still maintain good parts. Cooling Info The mold temperature for unspecified polypropylene ranges from 84.2-160 F. High impact copolymer polypropylene can be run in a hotter mold with a range of 68-150 F. Random copolymer polypropylene must be run in a cooler mold with a range of 73.9-105 F. Low mold temperatures allow for a faster cycle, while higher mold temperatures allow for a more complete replication of the mold surface. Water and water/glycol mixes are usually adequate for the cooling of polypropylene.

Gating Gating the part in the thickest section is general practice. Many different successful gate designs have been used with polypropylene. A smooth transition from runner to gate is a must. A preferred short land length is 0.020 in. The diameter of the gate should be about 50-75% of the part thickness at the gate. Melt Strength Polypropylene has good melt strength. It is a significant raw material in the blow molding market. Polypropylene is the ideal material in certain applications due to its low density, good transparency, sidewall strength at high temperatures, and a high freedom from environmental stress cracking. Regrind The max regrind percentage should range from 15-30%; however this is just a crude guide. The application of the part really determines how much regrind is allowable. If regrind is to be used, it is important to keep it dry, clean, and well mixed with the virgin material. Mold Lubricants Pretty much any mold lubricant can be used with polypropylene. It is not a reactive resin; therefore it is not likely to have a bad reaction with any chemicals found in lubricants. Recommended Purging Compounds Polypropylene is not a very harsh resin. It is not absolutely necessary to have a purging compound to get it out of the barrel. If a purging compound is to be used, polyethylene is a good choice. Another choice to completely rid the barrel of all residues is a purging compound such as NuPurge Technology. This compound, in a single purge, can remove all residues from the barrel. It can be used in the temperature range of 160600 F. Hot Tack There are different heat sealable grades of polypropylene. Heat sealable co-ex biaxially oriented polypropylene film has good hot tack and low haze. This film provides a good moisture barrier and a broad heat seal range. It is generally used in bakery, snack, candy, pasta, multi-wall bags, and general box overwrap applications. AA heat sealable film offers great hot tack. This film also offers a good moisture barrier and a broad heat seal range. It is used in baking, candy, overwrap, and contract packaging applications.

Defects Polypropylene can be prone to a wide array of defects. Such defects include short shots, sinks, splay, color streaks, tiger striping, flash, bubbles, voids, poor weld line strength, gate blush, and gloss differences. Splay generally doesnt happen with polypropylene unless the material is talc filled. With polypropylene compounds, a proper screw design is critical to eliminate color streaking. Creep Creep is defined as deformation under load with time. A constant load is applied to a plastic material and deforms that plastic to a strain roughly predicted by its modulus and continues to deform it slowly with time or until rupture occurs. Creep is applicable to all plastics to a certain degree. Several factors govern the amount of creep a plastic will sustain; they include type of plastic, amount of load, temperature, and time. The following graph illustrates a sample creep curve for polypropylene.

Creep curve for Polypropylene showing creep recovery Dimensional Stability Polypropylene has a superior dimensional stability to most other plastics. Engineered Textile Products showed this in a dimensional stability test. All their grades of polypropylene were tested at 180 F for one hour and showed only a 1% change in dimensional stability. The dimensional stability of polypropylene is a great advantage to the textile industry. This property coupled with its low moisture absorption makes it possible for clothing to remain the same size when exposed to high humidity or wetness. It also makes clothes made from polypropylene very fast drying and very resistant to water soluble stains and dirt. Chemical Resistance Polypropylene has the best chemical resistance to most types of chemicals out of any of the common plastics. It is only attacked by the most aggressive acids and oxidizing agents. It can be penetrated by some acids including chlorosulfonic and concentrated sulfuric acid. Chlorinated hydrocarbons dissolve polypropylene at 71 C and higher.

This can cause swelling at room temperature. The following table contains a variety of chemicals. The numbers 1-5, 1 being no attack and 5 being inferior to attack, give an idea about how polypropylene is affected by different chemicals. Acids and Polypropylene
Rating 1) Product 20oC 60oC

Benzoic acid

Boric acid

Hydrobromic acid 25 %

Citric acid

Hydrocyanic acid

Hydrofluoric acid

Phosphoric acid 25 %

Phosphoric acid 85 %

Phthalic acid

Tannic acid

Chromic acid

Maleic acid

Oleic acid

Oxalic acid

Nitric acid 5 %

Nitric acid 65 %

Chlorhydric acid 10 %

Chlorhydric acid 37 %

Butyric acid

Sulphuric acid 10 %

Sulphuric acid 78 %

Sulphuric acid 93 %

Tartaric acid

Acetic acid 10 %

Acetic acid 50 %

Acetic acid 75 %

Acetic acid 100 %

Perchloric acid

Bases and Polypropylene

Rating 1) Product 20oC 60oC

Aqua ammonia

Calciumhydroxide

Potassiumhydroxide

Caustic soda Acid salt 2) Basic salt 3) Neutral salt 4)

Various salt

Potassium bicarbonate

Potassium permanganate

Sodium cyanide

Natriumferricyanid

Sodium hypochlorite

Organic Substances, Solvents and Polypropylene

Rating 1) Product 20oC 60oC

Acetone

Aniline

Benzol

Petrol

Butyl alcohol

Ethyl acetate

Ethyl alcohol

Ethyl dichloride

Ethyl ether

Phenol

Formalin 37%

Heptanes

Chlorobenzene

Chloroform

Carbon disulphide

Carbon tetrachloride

Methyl alcohol

Methylene (di)chloride

Methyl ethyle ketone

Nitrobenzene

Toluene

Trichlorethylene

Gases

Chlorine (damp)

Chlorine (dry)

Carbon dioxide

Carbon monoxide

Sulphur dioxide (damp)

Sulphur dioxide (dry)

Hydrogen sulphide

1)

Rating: Excellent (no attack) Good (no significant attack) Acceptable (light attack, limited use) Unacceptable (significant attack) Inferior (possible cracking or dissolving)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Flame Retardants Flame retardants are materials which inhibit or resist the spread of fire. Flame retardants disrupt the flame chemistry, form a char layer to prevent the polymers from reaching the surface, absorb heat, and release water. Polypropylene is classified under Quite Flammable, which means that certain factors such as high heats have to be taken into account when choosing what to use polypropylene products for. The most common flame retardants used are brominated flame retardants. This class of flame retardants provides the best balance between mechanical properties, performance, processability, and cost. Ammonium Phosphate (APP) is an environmentally safe, halogen free, flame retardant used in polypropylene. This flame retardant does not generate excess smoke which is great in situations where peoples lives may be at risk. Foam When producing a foam plastic product, additives are mixed with the polymers which then have a chemical reaction, producing foam structures in a polymer matrix. There are two types of foaming agents, physical and chemical. The physical agents are used more due to their advantages, such as ease of processing and environmental friendliness. Polypropylene is difficult to make foam due to is mechanical properties. Even though it may be difficult to make polypropylene foam, it is still possible. Mixing a high melt strength polypropylene and a blowing agent, polypropylene foam can be made. The blowing agent expands causing cell formation that results in foam.

Color

Color is added to plastics in several different ways. Pigments added can be either organic or inorganic. Dyes are typically added as organic compounds. Pre-colors are additives which have been compounded with the material. Dry colorants are commonly agglomerates that have to be broken down and dispersed throughout the material. Liquid colorants are applied to the material prior to injection. Color concentrates need to be added at a let-down-ratio (LDR) to produce parts that match the desired color quality. Polypropylene is a common plastic used in the medical field. Color additives used in medical applications are subject to the same provisions that apply to the color additives used in foods. When color additives are added to polypropylene products used in food and medical applications, they have to be tested and approved by the FDA before being used. Impact Modifiers Polypropylene, being a commodity plastic, is used in many different applications from bottles and boxes, to appliance and medical products. A polymers impact resistance or impact strength is increased when additives such as impact modifiers are added to help products meet impact requirements necessary for certain applications. Increasing a products impact strength is accomplished by introducing a rubbery component that will absorb or dissipate energy of impact to stop craze and crack propagation. Impact modifiers will greatly increase the toughness of a polymer and decrease its brittleness if added correctly. If not added correctly the material will degrade. Some commonly used impact modifiers are butylacrylate, ethylacrylate, methylacrylate, and vinyl acetate. Ultraviolet Radiation Ultraviolet radiation, being the main element contributing to the aging of plastics, breaks down the molecular bonds in plastics. This reduces thermal and electrical properties, leaving products brittle and faded in color. The two ways to reduce the effects of ultraviolet radiation are to use UV absorbers and UV stabilizers. UV absorbers work by absorbing most of the energy and dissipating it to harmless levels. Common ultraviolet absorbers are arylesters, benzophenone, benzotriazoles, and formamidines. UV stabilizers will do either one of two things, chemically inhibit bond rupture or dissipate energy to lower levels. Common ultraviolet stabilizers are 2-hydroxybeznophones, 2-hydroxyphenyl benzotriazoles, and organic nickel compounds Plasticizers A plasticizer is a substance that is added to a material, either internally or externally, to improve its processability, flexibility, and stretchability. Plasticizers can also decrease the melt viscosity, glass transition temperature, and modulus of elasticity of the product without altering the fundamental chemical properties of the material. Eighty to ninety percent of all plasticizers are used in PVC. Polypropylene, being a commodity plastic and being processed easily, does not use plasticizers very often.

Fillers and Reinforcers Fillers and reinforcers are solid materials added to a polymer to increase bulk or improve properties. Most fillers are used to increase numerous properties of plastics, but some are added to take up space and reduce the amount of plastic needed to produce a product. This will ultimately reduce the cost of production. The primary filler used in polypropylene is talc. Talc is a very fine powder that has a nucleating agent which increases the stiffness and flexural modulus of a polymer. This filler has its upsides and downsides. Talc improves heat deflection temperature, dimensional stability, shrinkage, surface hardness, thermal conductivity, and reduces creep and warpage. On the downside, talc decreases tensile and impact properties, lowers melt flow rate, is abrasive to tooling, and can be expensive. Weatherability Plastic products used outdoors are affected by many environmental factors. These consist of solar radiation, microorganisms, humidity, water, thermal energy, pollution, and animals. Having such a low Tg, polypropylene becomes very brittle in the cold weather. It will also yellow, crack, and deteriorate when exposed to UV light. Machinability Most plastics can be machined just the same as metals; using drills, taps, and saws. The more rigid the plastic, the better it can be machined. The more flexible and softer materials are not suitable for machining. Less rigid plastics tend to deform when drilling, tapping, and sawing, resulting in a poorer finish. Since the mechanical properties of plastics are different from steel some considerations have to be taken when machining plastics. Prior to machining a plastic it has to be annealed. Proper annealing of the plastic is directly related to the quality of the finish received after machining. The internal structure of plastic is different than that of steel due to the flow of the plastic. Compensating for this requires higher revolutions of the cutting tool, necessary to achieve the best finish. Excess heat generated in the machining process can cause thermal expansion which can cause differences in shrinkages when cooled. Decoration Methods Polypropylene is most commonly decorated by using a hot stamp. Hot stamping is a fairly simple process which has an endless variety of colors, metals, designs, etc. The process begins with an engraved image of choice, which is heated and then forced against a part with a foil sandwiched in between. The image which is engraved is then left behind in ink on the part. There are two families involved with hot stamping, rigid plastics and polyolefins. Polypropylene falls into the polyolefin family, which has to be treated before many types of decorating. Polypropylene can also be painted or silk screened. The product has to be pretreated for the paint to remain on the part. When plastics expand and contract, paints may crack due to the molded in stresses plastics acquire.

Pretreatment requirements for decoration It is necessary to apply some kind of treatment to polypropylene before printing or painting; whether it is corona treatment, electrical surface treatment, or flame treatment. These treatments are used to increase the materials surface energy. This will help prevent paint from cracking, flaking, or pealing. Corona treatment Corona surface treatment raises the surface energy of the material and improves adhesive characteristics by creating bonding sites. Polar functional groups are created on the polymer surface that will promote adhesion with an electrical discharge through air. This type of treatment chemically roughens the surface of the material letting it adhere easily to the ink or adhesive being applied. Flame treatment Treating a plastic by flame is a simple, low cost process that increases surface energy and wettability. This makes materials compatible with coatings being applied. The process is performed by applying a direct flame to the material which will increase the surface tension. Flame treatment provides a low cost, high quality solution for surface treatment applications. Adhesives Polypropylene is very hard to bond with other parts due to the fact that is has such a low surface energy. Polypropylene can be bonded to parts if proper pretreatment measures are taken by using any of the methods mentioned previously. Assembly methods Since polypropylene has to be surface treated before it may be bonded to another part. It is assembled in several other ways such as vibration welding, inductive welding, hot gas welding, spin welding, and ultrasonic welding. Since time is money, theses types of assemblies that do not need the extra step of surface treating are more cost efficient. Vibration welding is where the vibration of two parts together creates friction which causes the two parts to heat up, welding together. Inductive welding, also known as electromagnetic welding, uses inductive energy to heat and weld the parts together. Assembling parts by spin welding requires a part to spin, creating friction, which will bond the two parts together. Hot gas welding is performed by having a hot gas directed towards the two pieces being welded. The hot gas will then soften and melt the two materials where a weld is formed between the two. Air is the most common hot gas used, but nitrogen may also be used. Ultrasonic welding is another frequently used assembly method with polypropylene, where high frequency acoustic vibrations are used to weld two plastics.

Sterilizeable Since some polypropylene products are used with foods, Ethylene Oxide is not recommended for use of sterilization. Ethylene Oxide is a toxic gas which may be harmful to humans. With plastics like polypropylene that can withstand temperatures above 250 F, autoclaving is a common way to sterilize the plastic. Autoclaving uses pressurized steam to destroy any microorganisms that the plastics may contain. Gamma sterilization is also a commonly used process of the sterilization of polypropylene which can eliminate microorganisms within the plastic without damaging it. E-beam sterilization is commonly used in the sterilization of polypropylene medical products. Toxicity Some grades of polypropylene are FDA approved. Even though polypropylene is a nontoxic plastic and is not carcinogenic, it can not be implanted in humans. Special equipment requirements Polypropylene is an easily processed polymer which requires almost no special equipment. Special Considerations or Precautions Some precautions to be taken when using polypropylene are to always wear gloves when dealing with the molten plastic in cases like purging. Also make sure that the work area is clean after use, and pellets are swept up so there are no injuries.

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