LyondellBasell Launches New High-performance Lupolen Resin for Use in Injection Molding

LyondellBasell Industries has launched a new low density polyethylene (LDPE) resin for potential use in a wide range of injection molding and masterbatch applications. The new Lupolen 1800U grade features an excellent balance of mechanical properties and a unique combination of easy processability, toughness, softness and dimensional stability. The resin complements the company’s existing LDPE product range used in injection molding and addresses market requirements for applications such as flexible, thin-walled container lids.

Produced using LyondellBasell’s Lupotech T high pressure tubular process technology, the Lupolen 1800U grade provides better processing characteristics than LLDPE (linear low density polyethylene), which is widely used in packaging and thin-wall injection molding applications such as housewares and caps and closures. “At 60 grams per 10 minutes, the grade achieves the highest melt flow rate that has ever been produced within our European portfolio of LDPE grades,” said Christof Justus, polyethylene marketing manager at LyondellBasell.

Due to its outstanding flowability, the resin can be considered for use in injection molding, color and additive masterbatches, and as a viscosity modifier for compounds. The grade also contributes to very good dispersion and homogenization of pigments and additives. “Lupolen 1800U grade is additive-free, and achieves thermal stability without the use of additives, unlike LLDPE which requires additives to achieve the same level of performance,” added Justus. “This will enable our customers to manufacture finished products and compounds free of materials that can interfere with successful production.”

Lupolen 1800U resins are now available for market introduction and will be produced on a commercial scale in LyondellBasell’s European Lupotech T plants, which offer the flexibility required for the production of high-performance low-density polyethylene resins for use in injection molding.. According to Tassilo Bader, LyondellBasell’s senior vice president for olefins and polyethylene, “Based on the world’s leading Lupotech T LDPE process technology, the new grade is positioned to become an industry benchmark.”