ABSTRACT
CHAPTER 4 Polyethylene GAYLON L. DIGHTON Dow Chemical U.S.A., Plaquemine, Louisiana
1 INTRODUCTION The use of alpha olefins as comonomers with ethylene in the production of polyethlene in the mid-1980s is one of the largest applications for alpha olefins and is expected to be the fastest-growing market for alpha olefins through the early 1990s. Because of this relationship, in this chapter we include a glimpse of the history and development of the polyethylene family, including a brief description of the different processes for manufacturing "polyethylene," the utilization of various higher alpha olefins in polyethylene manufacture, the effect of the various alpha olefins on the polymer properties, and the relationship between the end-use applications and polymer properties.
