Polypropylene

Description

A tough, translucent, white, thermoplastic Polyolefin made from propylene. In 1954, Giulio Natta (Milan Polytechnic, Italy) polymerized propylene, and by 1957, polypropylene fibers were being commercially produced by Montecatini Societa Generale (Italy). Polypropylene is similar to Polyethylene, but is slightly less dense with higher gloss, rigidity, and softening point. It has fair abrasion resistance and good resistance to heat and electricity. Polypropylene is the second most widely produced commodity plastic. Outside of museums, polypropylene is used for medical supplies, electrical appliances, toys, bottles, fishnets, pipe, clothing, road signs, molded parts, carpet, artificial grass, laminates, food packages, furniture, and photographic enclosures. Polypropylene is also made in a low molecular weight form that is used as greases, sealants, and wax.

Examples include:

Table of Polypropylene types

Forms	Products	Concerns
Film	1	2	3
Foam	Pregis LLC; Microfoam Pregis LLC; Propafoam Zotefoams Ltd.; Propazote Dow; Strandfoam || 4 || 6
Corrugated board	Matra Plast; Hi-Core Coroplast LLC; Coroplast (copolymer of polypropylene and polyethylene) Primex; Cor-X (copolymer of polypropylene and polyethylene) Polyflute || 6 || 9
Fabric non-woven	4	8	12
Pellets	Poly-Pellets	10	15
Fluff	Poly-fil;

Synonyms and Related Terms

PP; polyolefin; polipropileno (Esp.); polypropylène (Fr.); polipropilene (It.); Polypropylen (Deut.); polypropeen (Ned.); polipropileno (Port.); polypropen (Sven.)

Examples: Coroplast; Propylex; Herculon; Microfoam

FTIR

Applications

• Corrugated board
• Fibers, non-woven fabric, protective sheets
• Vapor barrier films, protective sheets
• Waxes and lubricants

Personal Risks

Scientific Polymer Products: MSDS

Collection Risks

Degraded by ultraviolet light and may contain UV absorbers or antioxidants. Combustible, but slow-burning.

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Soluble in some hydrocarbons, isoamyl alcohol.
• Insoluble in acetone, diethyl ether, lower alcohols, ethyl acetate, acids, alkalis.
• Burns with yellow flame and blue center; smells of paraffin.
• General composition = [C3H5]n
• CAS = 9003-07-0
• Melting Point = 160-165
• Density =| 0.85-0.94

Comparisons

Physical Properties for Selected Thermoplastic Resins

General Characteristics of Polymers

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• Contribution: Gina Watkinson, AIC Plastics Panel, 2020.

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 836

• Theodore J. Reinhart, 'Glossary of Terms', Engineered Plastics, ASM International, 1988

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Product Information Comment: Sigma Chemical MSDS has CAS 25085-53-4; Merck has CAS 9003-07-0 as does MSDS for Environmental Science; Scientific Polymer products has 9003-0704 for isotactic polypropylene

• History of Plastics: www.nswpmith.com.au/historyofplastics.html;

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypropylene (Accessed Nov. 9, 2005)

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000