Chap5 HDPE (Catalysts for production and Processes)

Catalysts

- Chromium catalysts: accounts for about half of the total production

Usually made by impregnating (dying) a Cr compound onto a porous, high A

oxide carrier such as silica and then claiming it in dry air at 500-900 Celsius

-Ziegler catalysts (TiCl):generally produce a narrower MW distribution than Cr2O3 catalysts

-Metallocenes and other single-site catalysts = one type of Ziegler catalyst

Based on cyclopentadienyl titanium or zirconium halides

Just entering a market, accounting for less than 1% of all HDPE sales

3 Processes

1) Slurry processes: The oldest and most widely used

Utilize either CSTR or loop reactors at low temp (70-110 C) or low P (1-5MPa) in
saturated hydrocarbon medium

*Major advantages: mild operation conditions, high monomer conversion,

Ease of heat removal, relative ease of processing

**Disadvantages: Long residence times (1-205 hrs per reactor), limited

production rate,

Density lower than 0.94 g/cm3 due to resin swelling

2) Solution processes: +Advantages: relatively small reactor, short residence time, fast transition
between grades,

Easy to control some polymer properties

3) Gas phase Processes: Reactor = Fluidized bed of dry polymer particles by stirring or passing
ethylene at high speed

Relatively low pressure 2 MPa and T 70-110 C

Chap6 PET (Adv, Disadv, Props, Diagram)

Chemical Properties

-Good acid resistance for most mineral acids

-Good resistance for alcohol, ketones, halogens, grease, oil

-Poor alkali resistance especially at high T

-Fair aromatic hydrocarbons resistance

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages: Versatility, safety, environmental impact, lightweight,

strong and has impact resistance,

Colorless and transparent (color can be added),

suitable for food packaging applications

Disadvantages: Very susceptible to heat degradation, excessive

shear heat should be avoided

High MW of PET Production diagram

EG: ethylene glycol

TPA: terephthalic acid

*we use 3 reactors for this production while the other use less than 3

-pipeline reactor

-column reactor

-solid state reactor

Chap7 PVC (VCM production and
Processes)

PVC production: Production of VCM,

Suspension polymerization, and Blending
with the additives

2 Methods to produce VCM

1) The direct chlorination:

ethylene (from thermal
cracking) and chlorine (from electrolysis
of salt) reacts within

A catalyst-containing reactor to form the intermediate EDC and

thermally cracked, then got VCM

2) The oxychlorination process: HCL (by-product) + ethylene in presence of catalyst and O2, then EDC
obtained again

Them is dehydrated and then thermally cracked, got VCM

-VCM is
pressurized and liquefied, then fed into
the polymerization reactor, which
contains water and suspending agent

-High-speed agitation within the reactor,

obtained VCM microparticles

-Initiator for polymerization is fed into the reactor, PVC is produced at atm P and 40-60 C

-PVC obtained from suspension polymerization is suspended in water as slurry

-Slurry discharged from the polymerization reactor is dehydrated, dried and screening to yield white
powder PVC
-Unreacted VCM is entirely recovered through the stripping process, after refining, recycled as raw
material again

Chap8 PS (Types and Benefits)

2 Types

1) High Impact Polystyrene: HIPS Good impact resistance, good dimensional stability,
easy to paint and glue

Can be manufactured at low cost and is approved

*APP: food servicer disposables, food packaging, appliance

housing, toys,

Electronic applications and industrial packaging

2) Expanded Polystyrene: EPS Solid foam with a unique combination of

characteristics, like lightness,

Insulation properties, durability and an excellent process ability

*APP: thermal insulation board in buildings, packaging,

Cushioning of valuable goods and food packaging

Benefits

-Better food protection

-Lightweight but gives significant mechanical firmness

-Food protection reinforced through forms adaptable to specific foodstuffs

-Shape and quality retention over long period of time

-Equals safer transport and in-store handling

*food service products are more economical than paper board and reusable food items

*Hot beverage cup require 50% less energy to produce paperboard cup

*Decreasing energy usage: slow Global Warming

*Only 5 % of EPS foam packaging is PS, the rest is air

Chap9 PC (Production and Applications)

Production

-The reaction of BPA and phosgene.

-Approximately 1 billion kgs of PC is produced

annually

Applications

-Electronic components: (Mainly) good electrical insulator, heat resistant and flame
retardant properties

Used in telecommunications hardware

-Construction materials: (2nd largest) for domelights, flat or curved glazing, and sound
walls

-Data storage: (Major) Compact Discs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs.

Also in advertisement such as signs, displays, poster protection

-Automotive and security components: Produce very smooth surfaces that make well-suited for
direct metalized

Such as decorative bezels and optical reflectors

Its uniform mold shrinking results in parts with greater

accuracy than PP

-Bullet-proof glass, bullet resistant: Thinner windows, bullet-resistant windows in

automobiles

Chap10 LLDPE (Comparison)

Conventional LLDPE vs LDPE

Conventional LLDPE having a narrower MW distribution and not containing long-chain branching

Short side chain branching vs Longer side chains (Products)

-Short side chain branching: influences products toughness: butene

-Longer side chains: hexane and octane are longer and result in superior physical properties