Single-Reactor Bimodal PE-100 HDPE Resin for Pressure Pipe Applications

Session 7B
4:10 pm

Predrag Micic, Qenos

Bimodal HDPE resins exhibit superior performance characteristics relative to traditional unimodal resins for polyethylene pressure pipe applications and have been the resin of choice for PE-100 pipe markets. These PE-100 resins provide an improved balance of stiffness, slow crack growth resistance, and resistance to rapid crack propagation. These raw material improvements have allowed production of pipe with higher operating pressures, higher margin of safety, and thinner pipes leading to raw material savings. Until recently, these materials have been produced via staged-reactor processes, either dual slurry, dual gas-phase, or dual-slurry-gas-phase systems. These staged-reactor systems require higher capital investment than single reactor systems. In recent years, Univation Technologies has developed an advanced catalyst system for producing bimodal HDPE resins in a single gas-phase reactor. This unique catalyst system produces a HDPE polymer with bimodal molecular weight distribution and a favorable comonomer distribution. This resin exhibits an excellent balance of hydrostatic strength, slow crack growth resistance, resistance to rapid crack propagation, and processability. Univation Technologies and Qenos collaborated to successfully scale-up the technology at the Qenos commercial reactor in Australia. Qenos is now producing PE-100 resin with this breakthrough technology.

Cliff Mure
Product Technology Leader, Univation Technologies

Dr. Predrag Micic
Senior Technologist, Qenos