What is Polyethylene Plastic?
Polyethylene plastic is an inexpensive plastic material that is chemically resistant and can be very durable. Polyethylene plastic comes in a low density form and a high density form. The low density form was discovered first, followed a few years later by the high density form. Low density polyethylene plastic (LDPE) came about in 1933 when it was discovered by two scientists, Reginald Gibson and Eric Fawcett. LDPE is made from oil. It has less strength and exhibits more flexibility than high density polyethylene plastic. LDPE was discovered by accident during an experiment conducted by Gibson and Fawcett. Once discovered, they began to process the polymer material, giving it the name “Polythene.” Used for coating submarine cables, it played an important factor in the war efforts during that time, enhancing the performance of the submarines. Over the next few years other companies became licensed and were able to produce LDPE. Films or packaging materials such as garbage bags or sandw
To make polypropylene, ethylene gas is introduced into a reactor with a small amount of oxygen in the presence of a catalyst which speeds up the reaction. Control of temperature and pressure and the choice of catalyst determines the type of polyethylene created. At the end of the reactor the polyethylene is removed from the reactants and the unreacted material is recovered for reuse.
