Production of Polyethylene

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Production of Materials‎ > ‎1. Fossil Fuel Products‎ >

Outline the steps in the production of polyethylene as an example of a commercially and industrially important polymer[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]There are two forms of polyethylene that can be produced via different production processes – high and low density.

Form	Low density polyethylene (LDPE)	High density polyethylene (HDPE)
Name of process	–	Ziegler-Natta process
Requirements	High pressure (1000 to 3000 atmospheres), high temperature (300°C), and an initiator (usually an organic peroxide)	Pressure of a few atmospheres, temperatures of about 60°C, and a catalyst
Polymerisation process	The peroxide initiator splits to form free radicals, which allow the initiation of the joining of ethylene monomers (the initiator is not a catalyst as it gets incorporated into the polymer)	The polymerisation occurs on the surface of the catalyst
Branching of polymer formed	Significant chain branching, meaning that polymer chains cannot pack closely together or in an orderly way	Unbranched polyethylene molecules that are able to pack closely together in an orderly fashion
Molecular weight of molecules formed	Up to 1 000 000 g/mol	Up to 3 000 000 g/mol
Recycling symbol

The production processes for polyethylene

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