New Medium Density Enhanced Polyethylene: A Unique Resin Combining Toughness, Stiffness, and Processability, 1998 Polymers, Laminations & Coatings Conference Proceedings

Enhanced Polyethylenes, produced with INSITE* Technology, are molecularly designed for property combinations that were previously difficult to achieve with traditional LLDPE resins. The ability to design these polymers provides the opportunity to tune the resin characteristics and properties to match the specific needs of a given application.

A new Enhanced Polyethylene (EPE) resin has been designed to combine stiffness, toughness, and processability as has never been done before. This medium density EPE provides property improvements over conventional MDPE resins. In order to meet the needs of a given application, a traditional MDPE may require the use of an additional layer or blend component to enhance abuse resistance, or may cause limited output due to processability problems. Similarly, a traditional LLDPE may provide the desired abuse resistance, but at a compromised stiffness. This paper will compare the performance of the new medium density EPE to that of conventional MDPE resins and will examine two example applications in which this new medium density EPE resin could prove useful, paper overwrap and pouches.