Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is used mainly in film applications for both packaging and non-packaging applications. Other markets include extrusion coatings, sheathing in cables and injection moulding applications.
LDPE is the oldest and most mature of the polyethylenes (PE). It is characterised by its short and long chain branching which gives it good clarity and processability although it does not have the strength properties of the other PEs.
The largest outlet for LDPE is the film market, which is used mainly in food and non-food packaging. Food packaging applications include meat and poultry wrapping, dairy products, snacks and sweets, frozen food bags and bag-in-box packaging for liquids. It is used where high clarity films are required such as produce bags and bakery film.
Non-food packaging applications embrace industrial liners, stretch- and shrink-wrap, garment bags and merchant bags.
Non-packaging film applications cover carry-out bags, waste bin liners and garbage bags, industrial sheeting, and construction and agricultural films.
A growth area for LDPE is the extrusion coating sector, the second largest application segment. It is used to provide coatings to paper and paperboard products for packaging of liquids such as milk and fruit juices, and to provide a moisture barrier to paper and woven cloth. It is also used for the coating of foil to provide a heat-seal layer in multilayer film structures.
Injection moulding, the third-largest application segment, is another growth area for LDPE. Uses include household goods, toys and sporting goods, caps and closures, and medical appurtenances.
Compounds based on LDPE can be used in insulation and jacketing materials for wire and cable applications as well as the sheathing of telecommunication cables.
However, LDPE has been losing market share to linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) which has either replaced or been blended with LDPE. The higher strength properties offered by LLDPE allow down-gauging, saving material and reducing costs.
LLDPE’s penetration into the LDPE market appears to be slowing in the more mature markets of North America, Western Europe and Japan. A future threat could come from new metallocene-based LLDPE that offers improved clarity and processing properties which could allow further penetration into LDPE markets.
Flat market growth expected
The global LDPE markets at just over 18m tonnes in 2008 has only been growing around 2%/year with most of the growth in Asia and driven by Chinese demand. In the longer term, absolute LDPE demand is forecast by consultant Nexant ChemSystems to decline modestly in North America and potentially Western Europe, depending upon the impact of new capacity in northeast England on the pricing balance between LDPE and LLDPE. Overall, demand is expected to be flat due to continued pressure from LLDPE.
However, there was an unprecedented demand crash in the second half of 2008 as a result of the credit crisis and its impact on economic activity. With declining polymer prices exacerbated by falling feedstock prices, purchasers withdrew from the market and inventories along the value chain reduced significantly. This resulted in a fall in demand being far beyond that anticipated by the economic downturn.
In 2008, little new LDPE capacity was added largely due to the delay in new units coming on-stream. However, a strong wave of capacity additions is expected in the 2009-2012 period with many projects based in either the Middle East with advantaged feedstock or the growth markets of Asia. Most of these plants are under construction but there are still some uncertainties around start-up dates, notes Nexant ChemSystems.
A significant shift in global trade is expected after the commissioning of the export-oriented LDPE capacity in the Middle East. Much of this traded LDPE will head for Asia but product may find its way into European and North American markets where some modest rationalization of capacity is anticipated.
Updated: March 2009. Source: ChemSystems PolyOlefins Planning Service (POPS).
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