What do a chicken egg and ethylene have in common?
Actually, not much. Let’s discuss the chicken egg. Depending on how it’s processed and whether additional ingredients are added in small quantities, various products with differing appearances, consistencies, and perhaps even tastes can be obtained. From a chicken egg, I can prepare numerous dishes such as soft- or hard-boiled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, omelettes, century eggs, or meringues… Ultimately, it’s still an egg.
For years, I’ve been endeavouring to illustrate the significant differences in polyethene waxes. This time I’ll attempt to clarify with an analogy. Ethylene is the raw material for producing polyethene or polyethene wax. Depending on the conditions and catalysts used for its polymerisation, polyethene exhibits variations in density, polymer chain length, chain branching, chain length distribution, melting point, viscosity, and crystallinity,… Finally, it remains polyethene, albeit with diverse properties.
This principle applies to polyethene wax as well. There are high-density and low-density PE waxes, produced either by polymerising ethylene or by degrading polyethylene. Both are high-quality waxes suitable for any PVC application. The aforementioned distinct properties become evident during extrusion or injection moulding.
For approximately 15 years, PE waxes have also been derived from the low-molecular-weight fractions of polyethene production. Nevertheless, this is commendable as it transforms waste into a usable product. However, the presumption that the low-molecular-weight fractions possess a consistent composition with a uniform effect is rather presumptuous or naive. Just as a century egg tastes distinctly different from scrambled eggs or an omelette, achieving reasonably consistent quality necessitates scrutinising the various fractions and consistently blending them. The effect will be analogous in the case of egg pieces, and the impact of 2ndary quality PE wax will persistently manifest in PVC.
These non-polar PE waxes delay gelation/fusion and increase torque/load, melt pressure, and melt temperature during extrusion.
Hence, exercise caution when procuring such PE waxes. They may contain oil and water, and their composition can vary significantly. Particularly, those offered at very low prices pose these risks. Fluctuations in molecular composition are mirrored in variable rheological parameters during PVC processing. Gelation/fusion time, extrusion torque/load, melt pressure, and melt temperature can fluctuate, thereby resulting in variable mechanical properties and colour changes in the final product. Such PE waxes are unsuitable for high-quality PVC products like window profiles.
After weeks of development efforts, Platinum has succeeded in manufacturing and offering such PE waxes. They are distinguished by consistent quality, particularly for PVC applications.
In addition to these non-polar PE waxes, there are also oxidized PE waxes with a certain polarity, various acid values, saponification values and density
These are somewhat more compatible with PVC compared to the non-polar ones. Their impact on PVC extrusion differs from the former. Oxidized PE waxes accelerate gelation/fusion, increase extrusion torque/load, and often elevate melt pressure and melt temperature.
Platinum Industries Ltd., is a leading PE wax manufacturer pays a lot of attention to go above and beyond these processes to create the best PE wax solutions in the market. We invest heavily in R&D to comply with environmental regulations and sustainability practices. Our dedicated staff and state-of-the-art infrastructure work in tandem to maintain strict quality standards, producing high-quality PE wax that meets customer needs and industry standards.
Platinum Industries Ltd., a member of Indian Vinyl Council (IVC)