S&P Global’s Chemical Economics Handbook – Polyethylene Resins, High-Density (HDPE) has been compiled using primary interviews with key suppliers and organizations, and leading representatives from the industry in combination with S&P Global’s unparalleled access to upstream and downstream market intelligence and expert insights into industry dynamics, trade, and economics.

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(PhysOrg.com) -- Polishing metal surfaces is a demanding but monotonous task, and it is difficult to find qualified young specialists. Polishing machines do not represent an adequate alternative because they cannot get to difficult parts of the surface. A new solution is provided by laser polishers.

“We can set the melting depth by means of various parameters: the laser output, the speed at which the laser beam travels along the surface and the length of the laser pulses,” states Willenborg. Laser polishing does not achieve the same surface smoothness as perfect hand polishing - hand polishers can achieve a roughness Ra of 5 nanometers, the laser at present can only manage 50 nanometers - but Willenborg still sees considerable market potential for the system. “We will concentrate on automating the medium grades: a roughness of 50 nanometers is adequate for many applications, including the molds used for making standard plastic parts.” The high-end levels of smoothness will therefore remain the domain of skilled hand polishers.

Film and sheet applications lead the demand for HDPE globally, followed by blow molding applications. Blow molding, injection molding and film and sheet together account for more than two-thirds of the world market for HDPE, most of which is for packaging (excluding blow-molded fuel tanks).

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Future growth in world HDPE consumption will be driven by the status and progress of regional economies, continued substitution of HDPE for traditional materials (e.g., glass, wood, concrete, paper), and avoidance of obsolescence of HDPE in some traditional applications. This latter factor will be more evident in the developed regions of the world where continued improvements in polyolefin processes and catalyst technologies should allow for the production of very broad ranges of products and grades that will increase HDPE’s utility in the marketplace. HDPE will also experience competition from traditional materials such as other existing thermoplastics as well as from emerging polymers brought into the marketplace via new technologies such as metallocene catalysts.

Demand in Southeast Asia and mainland China is driven by film and sheet applications, whereas demand in the United States and Western Europe is driven by blow molding applications for HDPE resins.

In 2021–2022, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted demand for HDPE around the world apart from in mainland China, which reported a positive growth rate.

Construction and other consumer and industrial applications are influenced by business cycles and fluctuate in tandem with the economy because of the exposure of HDPE applications in construction, such as in piping.

World HDPE consumption is driven by mainland Chinese demand, which accounted for more than one-third of world consumption in 2022. Mainland Chinese polyethylene demand represents robust growth, whereas mature markets like the United States, Europe and Japan will either remain flat or grow at a comparatively small rate. The United States is characterized by increased supply in the global environment, whereas mainland China continues to drive Northeast Asian demand for the product.

In terms of volume, HDPE is the third-largest commodity plastic material in the world, after polyvinyl chloride and polypropylene.

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Jobs are in short supply, and yet some sectors have difficulty in finding suitable trainees for specialist tasks, such as polishing injection molds. The work is time-consuming and monotonous but requires highest levels of concentration, because any blemish in the mold can render it useless. A skilled worker may often need a whole week to polish a single metal mold. Up to now it has not been possible to use machines for this dreary work because they cannot get into the curved shapes.

Blow molding and injection molding are the dominant end uses in Western Europe and North America. Consumption of HDPE in these end uses in Japan is considerably less. As a percentage of total HDPE consumption, film usage in Japan and Other Asia is nearly twice as large as the share of film in either the United States or Western Europe.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen have developed a way of automating the polishing work: “We do not polish the surface by hand with grinding and polishing media. Instead we use a laser,” explains Dr.-Ing. Edgar Willenborg, group leader at the ILT. “The laser beam melts the surface to a depth of about 50 to 100 micrometers. Surface tension ensures that the liquid metal flows evenly and solidifies smoothly.” Like in conventional grinding and polishing, the process is repeated with increasing degrees of fineness. In the first stage the researchers melt the surface to a depth of about 100 micrometers, in further steps they gradually reduce the depth.

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The time gained by laser polishing and the cost saving achieved are enormous. Whereas a skilled polisher needs about 10 to 30 minutes for each square centimeter, the laser polishes the same area in about a minute. A prototype of the laser polishing machine developed by the scientists in cooperation with mechanical engineering firm Maschinenfabrik Arnold has already been built. Willenborg estimates that the system will be ready for industrial use in one to two years’ time. At the Euromold trade show, to be held from December 2 to 5 in Frankfurt, the researchers will be presenting examples of three-dimensional surfaces polished by laser.

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S&P Global’s Chemical Economics Handbook – Polyethylene Resins, High-Density (HDPE) is the comprehensive and trusted guide for anyone seeking information on this industry. This latest report details global and regional information, including

The HDPE industry is in a growth mode, with supply and demand continuing to increase strongly in 2022–2027. Demand will continue to be dominated by Asia, primarily mainland China. Northeast Asia alone is forecast to consume more than one-third of the total global consumption in 2027. Historically, traditional established economies such as North America, Western Europe and Japan produced HDPE. The recent growth of the polyethylene industry has resulted in the shifting of production centers to regions with feedstock advantage (like the Middle East) or those with a prominent domestic demand base (such as mainland China).