Plastics manufacturers seek local production of high density polyethene

With over 350 companies nationwide, employing over 35,000 workers, producers of plastics and allied products in the country are seeking the domestic production of more grades of high-density polyethene (HDPE) in order to shore up the supply arm of a growing demand for plastics products.

Foramfera.com says the annual production of polyethene in Nigeria is estimated at over 80 million metric tons. Since 2005, China has been a leading global exporter of products made from HDPE.

The value of the global market for engineering plastics is estimated to increase to $90 billion by 2020, due to a growing demand for lighter and more efficient materials. Up to 25 percent of this demand is provided by electrical, electronics and consumer goods, said Polymer Solutions News in its January 2014 release.

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene high-density (PEHD) is a polyethylene thermostatic made from petroleum. With a high strength-to-density ratio, HDPE is used in the production of plastic bottles, bottles for fruit juice, milk, water, kitchen cleansing products, corrosion-resistant piping, geomembranes and plastic lumber. HDPE is commonly recycled, and has the number “2” as its resin identification code (formerly known as recycling symbol).

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HDPE is said to be resistant to many different solvents, and has a wide variety of applications such as: swimming pool installation, 3-D printer filament, arena board (puck board), backpacking frames, ballistic plates, banners, bottle caps, chemical-resistant piping, coax cable inner insulator, food storage containers, fuel tanks for vehicles, corrosion protection for steel pipelines, electrical and plumbing boxes, far-IR lenses, folding chairs and tables, geomembrane for hydraulic applications (such as canals and bank reinforcements) and chemical containment.

Others are: geothermal heat transfer piping systems, heat-resistant firework mortars, hard hats, hula hoops, last for shoes, natural gas distribution pipe systems, fireworks, plastic bags, plastic bottles suitable both for recycling (such as milk jugs) or re-use, plastic lumber, plastic surgery (skeletal and facial reconstruction), root barrier, snowboard rails and boxes, stone paper, storage sheds, telecom ducts, water pipes for domestic water supply and agricultural processes and wood plastic composites (utilising recycled polymers).

Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited (IEPL) based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has in the past seven years, been supplying quality grades of polymer resins (LLDPE, MFI, HDPE among others) to over 350 plastics companies, which employ over 35,000 workers.

Findings indicate that demand for varied grades of plastics, especially those produced with the high-density polyethylene [HDPE] has been on the increase.

According to Innocent Chukwuma, the chairman of Innoson Technical and Industrial Company Limited, Enugu, whose company is perhaps the biggest buyer of Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals products, the production of more grades of HDPE in Nigeria would propel a further increase in the production of various plastics and allied products in the country, with diversified products, at reduced costs.

Chukwuma said: “We would be very happy if Indorama can produce more grades of HDPE.”

For Amaechi Anudu, the managing director of Anudu Plastics, Asaba, Delta State, although his company uses both LLDPE (low lineal density polyethylene) and HDPE to manufacture plastic film; but they had to import HDPE to augment Indorama’s limited supply.

Said Anudu: “Indeed, Indorama’s LLDPE is superb… For HDPE, I think Indorama’s core competence is LLDPE.”

Polymer Solution News said “HDPE is one of the most commonly used plastics in the United States.”

With increasing global demand for light and efficient products mainly from plastics, against steel and iron, HDPE is also used for cell liners in subtitle D sanitary landfills, wherein large sheets of HDPE are either extrusion or wedge welded to form a homogeneous chemical-resistant barrier, with the intention of preventing the pollution of soil and groundwater by the liquid constituents of solid waste.

HDPE is preferred by the pyrotechnics trade for mortars over steel or PVC tubes, being more durable and safer. HDPE tends to rip or tear in a malfunction instead of shattering and becoming shrapnel like the other materials. Milk jugs and other hollow goods manufactured through blow moulding are the most important application area for HDPE, accounting for one-third of worldwide production, or more than 8 million tons. In addition to being recycled using conventional processes, HDPE can also be processed by recyclebots into filament for 3-D printers via distributed recycling. There is some evidence that this form of recycling is less energy intensive than conventional recycling, which can involve a large embodied energy for transportation.

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