Terms to know to help you grow
Shell Polymers’ new polyethylene plant in Monaca, Pennsylvania will be more than just a new facility; its aim is to Break the Mold and propel the plastics industry into a new way of doing business. Central to that evolution are terms both new and old that can help you understand what we do and how we benefit converters and brands. Get familiar with polymers lingo here.
Glossary
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Alliance to End Plastic Waste
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) is a coalition of nearly 50 major global companies that intends to invest about $1.5 billion over the next 5 years to help end plastic pollution in the environment. The alliance represents a major effort to minimize and manage plastic waste and to develop solutions for used plastics by helping to create a circular economy.
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Plastic Waste
New Global Alliance Commits Over $1.0 Billion USD to Help End Plastic Waste
Chemical Recycling Helps Combat Plastic Waste -
Analytical Lab
The Monaca, Pennsylvania plant’s innovation center has an area set aside to analyze the molecular and chemical makeup of pellets as they come off reactors. This aims to ensure product quality, lot-to-lot consistency, and that the product will run successfully on converters’ machines. It will also be a space where we can troubleshoot processing issues for our customers. Lab analysis is structured around samples from across the whole plant.
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Application Hall
This 86,000-ft2 lab space by the Monaca, Pennsylvania plant houses commercial-scale, state-of-the-art film, injection molding, blow molding, and pipe equipment used to make parts. Its aim is to allow converters to avoid downtime due to trials on their own equipment, speed up the resin qualification process, and verify that it functions in processing equipment the way that we expected it to. Customers can run trials on machines in the hall, and some machines will have plug-ins that allow us to mount different kinds of molds.
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Blow Molding
Blow molding is a manufacturing process used to make hollow products such as dairy bottles, industrial containers and drums, liquid containers, and more. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is the most common blow molded material.1
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Blow Molding
How to Prevent Defects in Blow Molding Products -
Blown Film Extrusion
Blown film extrusion is a manufacturing process that produces plastic film sheets and tubes. These sheets can be fully cylindrical or be used to form objects like shopping bags, trash bags, or cling wrap.
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Ensure a Trouble-Free Blown Film Extrusion Machine Shutdown
Improve PE Blown Film Extrusion Operations with These Five Expert Insights -
Circular Economy
This is a model of plastics production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. When a plastic product, container, or food packaging reaches the end of its life, its materials are kept within the economy and can be productively used again and again. This is a departure from the traditional, linear economic model, which is based on a take-make-consume-throw away pattern.2
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How Converters Can Encourage a Circular Economy in the Packaging Industry
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HDPE
High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is a thermoplastic polymer made from petroleum. As one of the most versatile plastic materials, HDPE plastic is used in a wide variety of applications, such as plastic bottles, milk jugs, shampoo bottles, cutting boards, and piping.
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HDPE Plastic
HDPE Applications: Industries Using High-Density Polyethylene to Thrive
Polyethylene in Everyday Life: Common HDPE Plastic Products
Advantages of Leveraging HDPE Film for Consumer Packaging Applications
Three Markets Where HDPE’s Chemical Resistance Enhances Durability and Safety -
HDPE Pipe Extrusion
HDPE pipe extrusion is a manufacturing process of converting raw plastic material into a continuous tubular melt by extrusion through an annular die. HDPE pipes are used in industrial settings to help carry potable water, waste water, chemicals, hazardous wastes, and compressed gases.
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Pipe Extruders Should Look at HDPE as the Future of Utilities Infrastructure
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Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is the Fourth Industrial Revolution, focusing on the process of utilizing advanced technology to streamline production processes, strengthen supply chains, accelerate logistics, and improve the overall customer experience.
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Industry 4.0
How to Leverage Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 Examples: Advanced Technologies in Action Throughout Shell -
Injection Molding
Plastic injection molding is a highly versatile process used to produce caps, bottle closures, toys, and a variety of products across many industries.
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Plastic Injection Molding
How to Identify the Cause of Injection Molding Defects
Future of Injection Molding: Using Simulation to Capture Maximum Value
How to Enhance Plastic Injection Molding Maintenance in 3 Steps
Roadmap: Unlocking Competitive Advantage for Injection Molders -
Innovation Center
The 86,000-ft2 center supports Shell Polymers’ plant in Monaca, Pennsylvania to help ensure quality and work with customers to solve issues, raise operational performance and trial new product solutions.
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LLDPE
Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) is the most flexible of the plastic sheeting films,3 used in common everyday applications such as food packaging, liners, and plastic wraps. LLDPE is the blended form of LDPE where the film offers more flexibility and strength, making it more pliable and softer.
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LLDPE Plastic
How to Prepare for LLDPE Rotational Molding Operations
Polyethylene in Everyday Life: Common LLDPE Plastic Products -
Multilayer Blown Film Lines
This is when the blown film manufacturing process uses additional layers. It can unlock cost savings for converters and enable higher-performance engineered films.
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Leveraging Maximum Value from Polymer Processing Aids in PE Blown Film
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Operation Clean Sweep
Operation Clean Sweep (OCS), a stewardship program of the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) and the American Chemistry Council's Plastics Division, is an international program designed to prevent resin pellet, flake, and powder loss and help keep this material out of the marine environment.4 As a blue member of this program, Shell Chemical self-reports spills, which isn’t required by the government.
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Polyethylene Resin Manufacturers Team Up to Put Pellets in Their Place
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Plastic Converters
Plastic converters are companies that specialize in modifying or combining raw materials such as polyethylene and creating a final product ranging from toothbrushes to industrial pipes and more. Plastic products can be found in virtually every industry.
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Reimagining How Converters Engage with Polyethylene Suppliers
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Plastic Resin
Plastic resin is the main base of all plastics. First, the resins are created with heat that cracks the hydrocarbons, called the cracking process. Then, the larger molecules of the resin are then broken down to different hydrocarbons such as polyethylene. Next, polymer resins are processed into final plastic products through techniques like extrusion, injection molding, blow molding, and rotomolding, among others.
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Polymer Trends: How Industry Shifts Will Affect Polyethylene Production
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Polyethylene
Polyethylene (PE) is the most common plastic in use today. Primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, bottles, and containers), PE resin is available in a wide range of melt indexes and densities.
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Polyethylene Products
Polyethylene Properties
Redefining the Industry with our State-of-the-Art Polyethylene Plant
Circumvent Polyethylene Supply Disruption with Strategic Suppliers -
Polymers
Any of a class of natural or synthetic substances composed of very large molecules. Polyethylene is the simplest example of a linear polymer. All plastics are polymers.
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Diversify Your Polymers Supply Chain To Be Resilient and Ready
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Polyolefin Film
Polyolefin (POF) films are plastics and a class of polymers which are used in a wide range of applications ranging from food wrap & beverage bottles to agriculture and cosmetics to industrial packaging. POF is extracted from polymerization of monomers. The most commonly used POF is polyethylene (PE), especially Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE).5
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Plastics in the Food and Beverage Industries
Plastics in the Personal Care Industry -
Pyrolysis
Plastic pyrolysis is a specialized heating technique that breaks plastics down into their raw materials. A key product is a liquid resembling crude oil, which can be burned as fuel or used as a chemical feedstock to recycle old plastics and create new plastic products, enabling a closed-loop process.6
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Shell Invests in Plastic Waste-to-Chemicals Technology Company BlueAlp
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Railcar Washing
Shell Polymers’ Monaca, Pennsylvania facilities have a modern railcar de-heeling and wash facility to reduce the risk of cross-contamination from prior cargo. De-heeling involves removing residual product from railcars, and washing reduces the risk of cross-contamination from prior cargo.
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Resin Additives
Additives help determine the final properties of resin, such as strength, elasticity, weight, and such.7 A key feature of Shell Polymers’ product is its 21st Century additive package. Across the industry, additive packages haven’t changed in recent years, but Shell’s is specially designed to help with gel mitigation, longevity of life, preventing discoloration or pinking of the film.
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Rotomolding
Rotomolding, also known as rotational molding, is a production process to form hollow parts of different sizes. Rotational molding is best used for large, one-piece hollow parts and double-walled open containers such as kayaks, tanks, playground slides, furniture, and coolers. Rotomolding is a cost-effective method to produce large plastic parts. The finished product is a stress-free, lightweight, and seamless design that is very durable.
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Rotomolding
Minimize Cycle Time in Rotomolding Operations
Rotational Molding Troubleshooting: 4 Tips to Prevent Defects -
Sheet Extrusion
Sheet extrusion is a technique for making flat plastic sheets from a variety of resins. The thinner gauges are formed into packaging applications such as drink cups, deli containers, produce trays, baby wipe containers, margarine tubs, etc. It differs from blown film extrusion in that the resulting material is thicker and often an intermediate material rather than the final product.8
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SIT Yard
Storage In Transit (SIT) yards are rail yards where PE pellets are stored in rail cars, ready to be shipped to customers. Shell Polymers will be operating a SIT yard outside Pittsburgh, near our Monaca, Pennsylvania plant, giving converters a reliable strategic option to stay supplied.
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Meet Our SIT Yard and the Advantages it Brings
Our Commitment to Your Supply -
Thermoplastic Polymer
A thermoplastic, or thermosoftening plastic, is a plastic polymer material that becomes moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Thermoplastics can be used in a wide array of applications thanks to its high strength, light weight, and relatively low processing costs.9
1 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/extrusion-blow-molding
2 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits
3 https://www.globalplasticsheeting.com/hdpe-vs-lldpe-vs-ldpe#:~:text=Linear%20Low%20Density%20Polyethylene%20(LLDPE,is%20more%20pliable%20and%20softer.
4 https://www.plasticsindustry.org/resources/industry-programs/operation-clean-sweep#:~:text=Operation%20Clean%20Sweep%20(OCS)%2C,out%20of%20the%20marine%20environment.
5 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/polyolefin-films-market
6 https://www.idtechex.com/en/research-article/could-pyrolysis-help-the-world-overcome-its-plastic-waste-problem/21261
7 https://www.plastinternational.co.za/what-are-resin-additives/
8 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/film-blowing#:~:text=Sheet%20extrusion%20differs%20from%20film,control%20the%20overall%20sheet%20thickness.
9 https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/plastics-rubber/thermoset-vs-thermoplastics/#:~:text=The%20primary%20advantage%20of%20thermoplastics,with%20high%20volume%20and%20precision.
