INTRODUCTION Polyethylene (PE) resins are a general class of thermoplastics produced from ethylene gas.

Ethylene gas is derived from the cracking of natural gas feed stocks or petroleum by products. Under broad ranges of pressures, temperatures and catalysts (depending PE type),ethylene generally polymerizes to form very long polymer chains .By utilizing techniques such as using different reactor technologies, operating multiple reactor configurations, or polymerizing other gases such as vinyl acetate or other olefins (butene, hexene,octene) in conjunction with ethylene to form co polymers, different types of PE resins can be produced. The ability to produce so many variations of a basic material permits the manufacturer to tailor PE resins fo rdiverse applications, such as packaging films, rigid food containers, milk and water bottles, large toys,etc. Following is a review of the three basic categories of PE resins, how they are produced and their key properties. Polyethylene products are typically classified by their melt index and density. The melt index provides a general indication of a product s molecular weight (MW) and processability. Ahigher melt index resin will typically have a lower molecular weight and process (flow) easier ;however, it usually has decreased physical properties as a result of the lower MW. Density measures crystallinity. As density and crystallinity increase, stiffness increases and impact decreases. POLYMERIZATION OF POLYETHYLENE RESINS When comparing the polymerization processes among the PE family of resins, they vary significantly, which result in the wide range of physical properties associated with PE. However, in all cases, the resultant PE products are pelletized on compounding extruders where additives such as antioxidants, processing aids, etc. are in corporated.Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is produced by autoclave or tubular reactor technology. Each reactor type operates at high pressures(up to 45,000 psig). The resulting polymer is highly branched, which results in its low density and unique physical properties. Vinyl acetate (VA) can be added to produce copolymer products that can have increased clarity (at low VA levels) and increased lexibility. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) is typically made by using a transition-metal catalyst in a gas-phase reactor that operates atlow pressures relative to the high pressures used in the manufacture of LDPE .Comonomers, such as butene, hexene oroctene are added with ethylene to create linearpolymer chains with short chain branches andlow densities. Solution and some slurry reactor technologies can be utilized to produce LLDPE as well.High density polyethylene (HDPE) can be polymerized by using slurry, solution, or gas phase reactor technologies. HDPEmanufacturing processes also use transition metal catalysts to make linear polymer chainswith less branching than LLDPE. Butene,hexene and octene are typical HDPE comonomers. Polymerizing ethylene with outany comonomer produces HDPEhomopolymer. The resultingproducts exhibitthe highest density and crystallinity in the PEfamily. LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE The high level of long-chain branching (LCB),as shown in Figure 1, of LDPE causes the polymer to have low crystallinity and low density ranging from 0.915 to 0.935 g/cc. As aresult of the low crystallinity of LDPE, the end useapplications are flexible andIn the production of film, LCB aids in processability because of higher melt strength(better bubble stability); however, this typically decreases tear and impact film properties.Figure 1. LDPE Polymer MoleculeIn the production of film, LCB aids inprocessability because of higher melt strength(better bubble stability); however, this typicallydecreases tear and impact film properties.As shown in Figure 2, over half of the 7.98-billion pound 2000 LDPE market was used in processes involving extrusion (film, extruded products, extrusion coating).1 Typical applications include high-clarity film, flexible food packaging, heavy-duty films and caps andclosures.BlowMolding1% HISTORY OF POLYETHYLENE

History

Polyethylene was first synthesized by the German chemist Hans von Pechmann who prepared it by accident in 1898 while heating diazomethane. When his colleagues Eugen Bamberger and Friedrich Tschirner characterized the white, waxy, substance that he had created they recognized that it contained long -CH2- chains and termed it polymethylene.

A Pill Box presented to a technician at ICI in 1936 made from the first pound of Polyethylene The first industrially practical polyethylene synthesis was discovered (again by accident) in 1933 by Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson at the ICI works in Northwich, England.[9] Upon applying extremely high pressure (several hundred atmospheres) to a mixture of ethylene and benzaldehyde they again produced a white, waxy, material. Because the reaction had been initiated by trace oxygen contamination in their apparatus, the experiment was, at first, difficult to reproduce. It was not until 1935 that another ICI chemist, Michael Perrin, developed this accident into a reproducible high-pressure synthesis for polyethylene that became the basis for industrial LDPE production beginning in 1939. Because polyethylene was found to have very low-loss properties at very high frequency radio waves, commercial distribution in Britain was suspended on the outbreak of World War II, secrecy imposed and the new process was used to produce insulation for UHF and SHF coaxial cables of radar sets. During World War II, further research was done in the United States on the ICI process and in 1944 Bakelite Corporation at Sabine, Texas and Du Pont at Charleston, West Virginia, began large scale commercial production under license from ICI.[10] Subsequent landmarks in polyethylene synthesis have revolved around the development of several types of catalyst that promote ethylene polymerization at more mild temperatures and pressures. The first of these was a chromium trioxide-based catalyst discovered in 1951 by Robert Banks and J. Paul Hogan at Phillips Petroleum. In 1953 the German chemist Karl Ziegler developed a catalytic system based on titanium halides and organoaluminium compounds that worked at even milder conditions than the Phillips catalyst. The Phillips catalyst is less expensive and easier to work with, however, and both methods are used in industrial practice. By the end of the 1950s both the Phillips- and Ziegler-type catalysts were being used for HDPE production. Phillips initially had difficulties producing a HDPE product of uniform quality and filled warehouses with off-specification plastic. However, financial ruin was unexpectedly averted in 1957 when the hula hoop, a toy consisting of a circular polyethylene tube, became a fad among youth in the United States. A third type of catalytic system, one based on metallocenes, was discovered in 1976 in Germany by Walter Kaminsky and Hansjrg Sinn. The Ziegler and metallocene catalyst families have since proven to be very flexible at copolymerizing ethylene with other olefins and have become the basis for the wide range of polyethylene resins available today, including very low density polyethylene and linear low-density polyethylene. Such resins, in the form of fibers like Dyneema, have (as of 2005) begun to replace aramids in many high-strength applications. Until recently the metallocenes were the most active single-site catalysts for ethylene polymerisation knownnew catalysts are typically compared to zirconocene dichloride. Much effort is currently being exerted on developing new, single-site (so-called post-metallocene) catalysts that may allow greater tuning of the polymer structure than is possible with metallocenes. Recently work by Fujita at the Mitsui corporation (amongst others) has demonstrated that certain salicylaldimine complexes of Group 4 metals show substantially higher activity than the metallocenes.

WHAT IS POLYETHYLENE? Polyethylene is a thermoplastic polymer consisting of long chains produced by combining the ingredient monomer ethylene (IUPAC name ethene), the name comes from the ingredient and not the actual chemical resulting. The ethylene actually converts to ethane as it takes its place in a polymer and straight sections of the polymer are the same structure as the simple chain hydrocarbons, e.g., propane, decane and other straight single-bonded carbon chains. As with any polymer, the structure of the resulting substance defies molecular description due to cross branching of the chains. The scientific name polyethene is systematically derived from the scientific name of the monomer.[2][3] In certain circumstances it is useful to use a structure-based nomenclature; in such cases IUPAC recommends poly(methylene)[3] (poly(methanediyl) is a nonpreferred alternative[4][5]). The difference in names between the two systems is due to the opening up of the monomer's double bond upon polymerization. The name is abbreviated to PE in a manner similar to that by which other polymers like polypropylene and polystyrene are shortened to PP and PS respectively. In the United Kingdom the polymer is commonly called polythene, although this is not recognized scientifically. The ethene molecule (known almost universally by its common name ethylene) C2H4 is CH2=CH2, Two CH2 groups connected by a double bond, thus:

Polyethylene contains the chemical elements carbon and hydrogen. Polyethylene is created through polymerization of ethene. It can be produced through radical polymerization, anionic addition polymerization, ion coordination polymerization or cationic addition polymerization. This is because ethene does not have any substituent groups that influence the stability of the propagation head of the polymer. Each of these methods results in a different type of polyethylene.