Polyethylene wax (PE wax) detailed

Polyethylene wax (PE wax), also known as polymer wax referred to as polyethylene wax. It is widely used for its excellent cold resistance, heat resistance, chemical resistance and wear resistance. In normal production, this part of the wax as an additive can be directly added to the polyolefin processing, which can increase the gloss and processing performance of the product. As a lubricant, it is chemically stable and has good electrical properties. Polyethylene wax has good compatibility with polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl vinyl oxide, ethylene propylene rubber and butyl rubber. It can improve the fluidity of polyethylene, polypropylene, ABS and the release of polymethyl methacrylate and polycarbonate. Polyethylene wax also has a stronger internal lubricating effect than PVC and other external lubricants.

Quality indicators

Appearance: white, powdery/flaky/blocky

Density: 0.93 – 0.98

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project

index

effect

molecular weight

1500 – 5000

In general, the larger the molecular weight, the higher the melting point, and vice versa, the smaller.

Softening points

90 – 120°C (varies with molecular weight)

The softening point is too low, and it is easy to vaporize and evaporate in the high temperature production process.

hardness

MAX 3 – 8

Affects the hardness of the final product.

viscosity

10 – 600（CPS140℃）

The effect of large dispersion of viscosity is not good, but the brightness is good, the viscosity is low and the dispersion will be very good, and the brightness is moderate. In addition, the viscosity is too low, the wax is easy to precipitate, which is not conducive to the dispersion of the filler. If the viscosity is too high, it will affect the extrusion speed and affect the production capacity.

Penetration

1 – 4

The larger the penetration, the softer the grease, the smaller the consistency; conversely, the harder the grease, the greater the consistency.

Uses and industries

1. Concentrated masterbatch and filled masterbatch In the processing of color masterbatch, it is used as a dispersant and is widely used in polyolefin masterbatch. It has good compatibility with polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and other resins, and has excellent external and internal lubrication.

2. PVC profiles, pipes, composite stabilizers in PVC profiles, tubes, fittings, PE. PP molding processing process to do dispersant, lubricant and brightener, enhance the degree of plasticization, improve the toughness of plastic products and surface smoothness. And widely used in the production of PVC composite stabilizer.

3. Ink light resistance and chemical properties are good, can be used as a carrier of pigments, can improve the wear resistance of paint and ink, improve the dispersion of pigments and fillers, have a good anti-settling effect, can be used as a flat polish for paint and ink, so that the product has a good gloss and three-dimensional sense.

4 Wax products are widely used in the production of floor wax, automotive wax, glazing wax, candles, crayons and other wax products, improve the softening point of wax products, increase their strength and surface gloss.

5. Cable material Is used as a lubricant for cable insulation material, which can enhance the diffusion of filler, improve extrusion molding rate, increase mold flow, and facilitate mold release.

6. Hot melt products are used in various hot melt adhesives, thermoset powder coatings, road sign paints, scribing paints, do dispersants, have good anti-settling effect, and make products have a good luster and three-dimensional sense.

7 Rubber As a rubber processing aid, it can enhance the diffusion of filler, improve the extrusion rate, increase the mold flow, facilitate mold release, and improve the surface brightness and smoothness of the product after filming.

8 Cosmetics make the product have a good luster and three-dimensional feeling.

9 Injection molding Saves the lubrication effect of machine power and enhances the surface gloss of the product.

Type and price

At present, the specific wax species on the domestic market are divided into:

The first: domestic counterfeit wax

The second kind: waste plastic, recycled material cracking wax

The third kind: oligomers

The fourth kind: new material cracking wax

The fifth kind: Korean wax, Thai wax

Sixth: Honeywell, USA, BASF, Klein, Germany

Seventh: gas synthesis wax

1. Polyethylene plus paraffin wax, or stearic acid and calcium carbonate.

Such wax is even more ridiculous polyethylene (new material or better color recycling material, non-product, etc.) plus paraffin grinding into powder, that is, called polyethylene wax, according to some people said that the effect is still very good, really do not understand, I believe that many many technical personnel will not understand; even more because the paraffin price of nearly 10,000 yuan, simply with paraffin and polyethylene recycling material fraud has not been cost-effective, so a large amount of calcium carbonate to reduce costs. Therefore, although the market price of the so-called domestic cracking wax is between 8000-12000 yuan, the actual use price is between 23000-30000 yuan, because it takes more than 10,000 yuan to buy only about 40% of the active components of paraffin wax, the oligomer either flies at a high temperature, or it becomes an invalid impurity, and because the paraffin evaporation vaporization makes the production environment extremely deteriorate and invisibly increases the cost, deviating from the original intention of using polyethylene wax, it is better to use this so-called polyethylene wax directly than to use paraffin wax.

2. Waste plastic cracking wax

Because most of the domestic cracking wax is directly used in waste plastic cracking, so its molecular weight can not be guaranteed, the composition can not be guaranteed, such as calcium powder clay and other filling, antioxidants, bleaching agents, flame retardants, lubricants and other processing additives, processing will be carbonized, its solid visible impurities between 1% -30%, degradation components of about 10-50%, so mostly black, brown, yellow, green. The bad smell is strong, such wax can only be used for the production of black mother, sewer pipes, garbage bags, plastic trays, etc., the effect is good, but the daily necessities can certainly not be used; this wax is now priced at thousands of pieces, the scientific name: "garbage wax, black wax, green wax, recycled wax." According to the color shade, how many impurities, the size of the odor, the price is 3000-8000 yuan.

3. Oligomer wax

Imported Middle East countries oligomer mixed waste, containing a variety of solvents, low molecular substances, solid impurities, usually containing water and solvent 15-25%, and easy to volatile low molecular content is high, the performance is soft, yellow, no good gloss, look and feel.

1) Drying with drying equipment is sold as a --------- general drip melting point 30 to 95 °C, easy to precipitate;

2) After drying, add other recycling materials and other additives (such as polypropylene particles) to improve the melting point and hardness, and the takeaway is a -------- melting point is difficult to say;

3) After drying, distillation and refining is calculated by distillation equipment---------- the general drip melting point is 80 to 103 ° C (caused by the polyethylene production process, the melting point cannot be improved. And because of its low flash point, high temperature is easy to fire and explode, so it can not be more refined, in the past two years, there have been a number of companies that have exploded and caught fire, and in order to reduce costs, add a lot of other non-beneficial substances to reduce costs, side effects, limited performance);

The price is 8000-15000 yuan

4. Cracking wax

1) Several manufacturers in China, because of the long production time, gradually touch the process method of cracking and producing higher quality polyethylene wax, and relatively mature, used to produce new material pure polyethylene cracked wax, this wax viscosity is higher (300 to 500), the molecular weight is also large enough (1500-5000), the color is relatively good (less carbonization black spots), the melting point is 100-105 degrees, the wax produced is mainly used for the manufacture of polypropylene masterbatch, and the pigment dispersion function can replace foreign ethylene synthetic wax, However, the plastic lubrication effect is limited. However, due to the high price, performance restrictions and production restrictions, the development of domestic wax enterprises is slower. (Foreign countries have basically eliminated this process, due to large energy consumption, large pollution, great danger, small controllability, high processing temperature and easy to catch fire and explode (such as the explosion of Beijing University of Chemical Technology, which has been suspended for 2 years), low productivity and other reasons). The price is 16500-18500 yuan, and its basic cost composition is LDPE price multiplied by 1.1 is 15000 + 2500 yuan processing cost (electricity, manpower, equipment, profit) + invoicing fee; imported cracking wax is generally 20000-23000 yuan.

2) Most of the cracking manufacturers because of poor control of cracking time, temperature and stability of cracking, resulting in unstable quality and color, can only add some deodorant and bleaching additives to change the color, resulting in the actual use is not very good, more trouble, and because of the cost pressure of some domestic users, resulting in polyethylene wax manufacturers can only add other substances to reduce unit cost, but the product performance declines. (The bad reputation of domestic wax is caused by them), the price is 10,000-15,000 yuan

5. Thai wax, Korean wax

The melting point is generally around 110 degrees, and some grades are 118-119 degrees

Although the waxes of these two countries are divided into many categories due to different processes and refining degrees, the basic principle is one:

The function is biased towards improved lubrication, improved leveling and increased melting point.

That is, according to different polyethylene conjugates fractionation, refining, interception, so as to obtain different viscosity, different melting points, different uses of subdivision of polyethylene wax. The advantage of this wax is that the molecular weight is relatively concentrated, does not contain any additives, the quality is more stable, the drip melting point is higher, the hardness is high, the viscosity is low, and the viscosity is very strict, while some refined grades have passed the US FDA certification, Hong Kong SGS certification, suitable for various needs, because of its strict production, individual grades can replace the United States Honeywell, Basf and other high-grade waxes. Thus basically occupying the midstream market of the world's polyethylene wax. But because of its dependence on polyethylene production, its production scale is also subject to corresponding restrictions, the specific presentation is that although there are three or four production plants in South Korea, but the monthly output is basically less than 200-500 tons, although the output of several manufacturers in Thailand is much larger than that of many 2000 tons-3000 tons per month in South Korea, but because the supply of high-grade wax in the world is not in demand, Thai wax thus fills part of the high-grade wax gap, but can not meet the needs of the midstream market, resulting in a large gap in mid-range wax. The price is 11500-19500 yuan

Now the domestic market says that 90% of Korean wax is fake, only some old dealers have a small amount of high-priced real goods; said Thai wax, 50-80% is fake, because Thai wax has designated dealers, other for domestic manufacturers counterfeit goods, such as H110, H108, casual products are called this brand.

6. Ethylene synthetic waxes from the United States and Germany

This wax is directly synthesized by ethylene, because the reaction environment is scientific, the molecular weight is well controlled, the melting point is stable, the production controllability is strong, the purpose of use is strong, the process level is high, and the cost is low, thus occupying the high-end market of the world's polyethylene wax. However, due to the technical blockade, the high cost of equipment, and the limited market demand, the United States and Germany have not expanded production. Recently, there are more OEM production in Asia, the ingredients are unverifiable, and the performance is not as good as that of European and American origin. The price is 22000-120000 yuan

7. Coal, gas wax

South African Sasol wax, Malaysian Shell Fischer-Tropsch wax, distilled with coal or gas synthesis, high hardness and high price. There is also a nickname "steel ball wax", the price is high. It is used for ordinary rubber and plastic processing with poor cost performance, and is mainly used for high hardness requirements. The price is 22000-30000 yuan. There are several large coal enterprises in China that have started production, such as: Lu'an Mining, Shanghai Joule and so on. Due to the decline in the price of raw material coal, as well as the continuous improvement of production technology, the price of domestic Fischer-Tropsch wax has been greatly reduced, and the current price of 85# is around 8000-9000.