What’s said to be the world’s largest single PP train has a nameplate capacity of 1.1 billion lb/yr of homopolymers and random copolymers. It was started up recently in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia, by Saudi European Petrochemical Co. (Ibn Zahr) a joint venture of Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC). The plant uses Unipol PP gas-phase technology licensed from Dow Technology, a unit of Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich. This is the third Unipol PP facility of Ibn Zahr in Al Jubail, and when another plant being built in Yanbu comes on stream, SABIC will have annual PP capacity of nearly 4 billion lb. SABIC Americas, Inc. is in Houston.
(713) 532-4999 • www.sabic.com
A new study shows how the type and amount of LDPE in blends with LLDPE affect the processing and strength/toughness properties of blown film. Data are shown for both LDPE-rich and LLDPE-rich blends.
Compounders face a number of processing challenges when incorporating a high loading of low-bulk-density mineral filler into polyolefins. Here are some possible solutions.
