1.

1 Polymers
Polyethylene (PE) ,(C2H4)n
- Simplest polymer from chemical standpoint
- lightweight, water-resistant, good balance of strength and flexibility,
provide some clarity, easy to extrude, easy to heat-seal and low cost
- polymerized from ethylene monomer and consist of carbon chain
backbone with two hydrogen atom bonded to each carbon atom
- all PE grades have high value of specific heat approximately 2 kJ/kg.K
(the higher the specific heat the larger the amount of thermal energy a
material can hold)

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

- consist of short chain branches (less than 6 carbon atom long) and long chain
branches (almost as long as the length of the backbone)
- branch points along the chain serve as disruptions to the order of the system
and prevent local crystallization
- low level of crystallinity results in lower density
- density range of 0.910-0.925 g/cm3
- melts at relatively low temperature (220-240 F or 105-115 C) and does not
require as much extruder motor power
- LDPE blown film grades are moderately high in viscosity and high melt
strength in the bubble leads to a stable bubble that ca run with a low frost line
height (pocket bubble, bowl or pear shape
- Tough and flexible (toughness is derived from a good combination of strength
and elongation and flexibility results from low crystal content
- LDPE bags provide soft feel and HDPE bags provide crinkly feel
- Not as stiff or strong and HDPE
- Has property called “elongational thickening” where the melt gets stronger
upon stretching

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

- very linear chains are produced
- has high degree of linearity results in high percentage of crystallinity
- density rage of 0.914-0.965 g/cm3
- melts at 265-275 F or 130-135 F because of higher degree of crystallinity and
more consistent molecular structure
- require higher screw torque hence more motor power
- run with a high frost line height (long stalk or wine glass shape)
- have lower melt strength than LDPE because of “elongational thinning” where
the melts gets weaker upon stretching
- bubble stability presents problem due to elongation thinning
- high strength and stiffness
- good barrier properties (resistance to gas permeation) due to its high degree of
crystallinity)
Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE)
- variation of HDPE
- Synthesized similarly as HDPE but has much higher content of comonomer
(hexane or octane)
- Incorporation of comonomer in the chain yields short chain branches of
specified length
- By controlling the amount of branch points thru comonomer content it is
possible to control the degree of crystallinity- hence density
- Variants of LLDPE are very low density polyethylene (VLDPE) and ultra low
density polyethylene (ULDPE)
- Has density of 0.880 – 0.925 g /cm3
- Melt temperature approximately 240-260 or 115-125 C
- Processed like HDPE at extruder and outside of the die it is processed with a
pocket bubble like LDPE
- Uses a dual lip ring that stabilizes the bubble while providing a high volume a
high volume of cooling air due to its low melt strength
- Solid-state properties reflect the combination of HDPE & LDPE

Medium Density Polyethylene (MDPE)

- density between LDPE and HDPE (0.926-0.940 g/cm3)
- achieve by reducing the amount of branching that is found in typical LDPE
hence increasing the degree of crystallinity
- Stiffer and stronger than LDPE
- Used for heavy bags and industrial films

Metallocene Polyethylene (mPE)

- Synthesized using metallocene catalyst during polymerization process also
known as constrained geometry catalyst technology and single-site catalyst
technology provides very precise control over molecular structure allowing to
design polyethylene types based on chain length, chain length distribution and
branching structure
- Key property benefits is the ability to synthesize very soft, flexible grades
- Process modifications for mPE grades are designed to accommodate their
lower melting points
- Lower temperature along the barrel profile than HDPE and LDPE even closer
to LDPE
- Lower melting point corresponds to a lower freezing (crystallization)
temperature
- Greater cooling capacity is needed to cause solidification while maintaining
bubble stability and can be accomplished using chilled air and internal bubble
cooling (IBC)

Polypropylene (PP)
 - Synthesized from propylene monomer by method similar to that used for
HDPE yields very regular pattern hence it is able to crystallize
- Propylene monomer is slightly larger than ethylene monomer
- Its crystal structure is somewhat different than PE crystal structure and has
higher melting point
- Stronger and stiffer than PE
- Used in applications requiring higher use temperature and more strength
examples includes medical bags that can be autoclaved, hot liquid drum liners,
release films for construction materials
- Has melt temperature approximately 330 F or 165 C
- Similar in ease to processing PE
- Thermally stable compared to other polymers
- Has lower melt strength than PE particularly when compared to LDPE
- Can be used in both monolayer specialty film and within a multilayer
coextruded structure

Polystyrene (PS)

- Synthesized by a method yielding an irregular pattern along the polymer

chains hence prevents crystallization
- Resulting polymer id completely amorphous
- Glass transition temperature is 210 F or 100 C, it possesses excellent clarity
- High strength and low cost
- Possesses detrimental level of brittleness because the chains are very stiff
- Crack easily when folded and slight imperfections such as gels, readily cause
tears that propagate rapidly for this reason, it is blended with some amount of
rubber-containing modifiers such as styrene-butadiene copolymer
- Higher levels of rubber additives may reduce clarity but makes PS films
mechanically tougher and easier to process
- Significantly more difficult than processing PE in blown film processing

Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA)

- Copolymer of polyethylene
- Similar in chemistry to PE, but has some percentage of vinyl acetate (VA)
included along the chains (5 and 20 % depends on the desired properties of the
polymer)
- VA adds polarity or adhesion, to the polymer and therefore improves the
compatibility of the polymer with fillers and gives the polymer adhesive
properties
- Use as layers in coextruded products such as food and electronics packaging

Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH)

- Copolymer of polyethylene with percentage of vinyl comonomer along the

chain
- Synthesized by converting VA units along a chain into vinyl alcohol (VOH)
units
- Grades can be purchased with either fully or partially converted VA units to
provide a wide property set
 - Primary used in layers of coextruded film structures
- Most important property is the resistance to oxygen permeation for this reason
it is used as a barrier layer in multilayer food-grade films
- It is water-soluble, used in applications such as the delivery of laundry
detergent via dissolving packaging

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

- One of the most extruded polymers by volume

- Used as replacement of wood and aluminum profiles in building construction
products
- Limited thermal stability, good melt strength which lends itself nicely to blown
film extrusion
- Predominantly an amorphous polymer (Tg=180 F or 82 C) as a result it has
good clarity
- Can be extruded either rigid material or as flexible material by adding
plasticizer to the polymer which lower its glass transition temperature
- Rigid films can be metallized and punched into sequins for dressing
applications
- Flexible films are used to overwrap clothing and other textile products
- Two other important characteristics utilized in film application are barrier
properties and heat-shrinkability and because of these it has been used in food
packaging such as candies as well as nonfood packaging such as shrink
wrapping of auto parts

Polyvinylidene Chloride (PVDC)

- Excellent oxygen and moisture barrier properties
- Good clarity and ability to be downgauged make it important material for the
packaging of many types of foods, both solids and liquids
- Used to package medical and pharmaceutical products and is formed into
small tubes for delivering doses of lubricants , cosmetics and other liquids
- Limited thermal stability similar to PVC, temperature control is critical during
processing
- Equipment minimizing polymer residence time under heat and maintaining
melt temperatures below 390 F (200 C) is mandatory
- Highly corrosive therefore special alloys must be used for screws, barrels and
dies
- Most processors employ the double bubble technique, particularly with
monolayer films, this method of re-heating and then re-inflating the bubble
after it has been solidified allows the processor to achieve enhanced molecular
orientation in the final product

Polyamide/Nylon (PA)
- Primary barrier layers in multilayer structures
- Has different processing characteristics than other polymers like PE
 - Has higher processing temperature (>500 F, melt temperature =360-480 F or
180-250 C) so the extrusion system (particularly the die) must be designed to
provide proper temperature control to individual flow layers
- A hygroscopic material, meaning it absorbs moisture from air, do it must be
dried sufficiently prior to processing
- has some specialty monomer films blown from PA, example is a high-
temperature film used as bagging material for composites processing

Polyurethane (PU)
- highly versatile material with a wide range of properties, depending on the
chemistry of specific grade
- blown fill grades are thermoplastic aromatic or aliphatic (aliphatics are more
expensive but generally provide better resistance to UV radiation and are
clearer
- either polyether-based or polyester-based where the former has better low-
temperature flexibility and the latter tends to be tougher and more chemical
resistant
- somewhat easy to process because they are synthesized to have good melt
strength
- processed at temperatures between 350 and 400 F (180-205 C) however they are
highly moisture absorbent and if not dried adequately, exhibits gels, streaks
and low melt strength
- can be quite tacky, leading them sticking to process equipment
- used in specialty applications because of their elasticity and toughness
(example is an adhesive laminating layer between fabric and inflatable
bladders used in rafts and kayaks

LDPE VS LLDPE VS HDPE

Property Low Moderate High

Tensile Strength LDPE LLDPE HDPE
Soft Feel HDPE LDPE/LLDPE LDPE/LLDPE
Stiffness LDPE/LLDPE LDPE/LLDPE HDPE
Impact Strength LDPE/HDPE LDPE/HDPE LLDPE

LDPE VS MDPE VS HDPE

Property Low Moderate High

Stiffness LDPE MDPE HDPE
Toughness LDPE MDPE HDPE