Insight On The Chemical Make Up Of Polyethylene And Its Uses

23 Aug 2010

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In this blog post we'd like to share with you the chemical strands and uses of polyethylene. Polyethylene, as we commonly know and popularly use at almost every purpose, is the most flexible, durable and chemically resistant material. Going by its chemical structures, you will find is made up of polyethylene molecules. According to structural variations, polyethylene molecules can broadly be differentiated into Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). LDPE is used in making plastic bags and other packaging materials while HDPE is used in developing containers, pipes, laundry detergent bottles, etc.

The polymers of High Density Polyethylene molecules are more opaque, stronger, harder and slightly heavier than Low Density Polyethylene. It is broadly composed of Carbon and Hydrogen. The other recycled polymeric ingredients of HDPE have made it a perfect component for pyrotechnics trade. Carbon black or UV-stabilizers are commonly used to make them resistant to weather and other reactive solvents.HDPE has a wide variety of industrial application in consumer products like, liquid distributor pipe, channels for domestic water supply, natural gas distributors, inner cable insulators, corrosion protectors for pipelines, plastic lumbers, sheds, ducts for telecoms and other cell liners for homogeneous supply and extrusions. HDPE is readily available in various forms like sheet or tubes for fabrication.

Another most popular nonmetallic polymer used in the poly industry is the Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). While we don't really deal with PVC, as it is mainly use for pipe-lining, we will be glad to offer you some insight into PVC. When used in underground pressure piping, PVC differs greatly in terms of strength, price of material, installation cost, and connection procedure.  

But in terms of widespread industrial applications, Polyethylene is king.  Both polyethylene materials (HDPE and LDPE) have successful track records in terms of capacity and utility rating. In fact, innumerable industries and consumers are getting massive cost of production benefit from the growing usability of polyethylene products...from plastic bags, to water tanks, domestic a
nd commercial pipeline distribution, and other applications too numerous to mention.