Metallocene Polypropylene | Advantages of
Metallocene Polypropylene | Metallocene Based
Polypropylene Nonwoven | Application of Metallocene
Polypropylene
1. INTRODUCTION
In past decades, the use of polypropylene, has dominated in the production of
melt blown and spunbonded nonwovens. The main reasons for the growing
use of PP in polymer-laid nonwovens are that the raw materials are
relatively inexpensive and available throughout the world, and PP resins can
offer a relatively attractive cost combined with good value and ease of use
when compared to conventional resins, such as polyester and polyamides.
Continuing advances in PP fiber grade resins are strengthening the olefins
price / properties ratio, which make them more suitable for polymer-laid
nonwovens applications.
Polypropylene resins have been produced from Ziegler-Natta catalysts for over
30 years. The drive for technology evolution has been the industry's desire to
continuously improve control of the molecular architecture that leads to
improved polymer performance.
In 1990's, the introduction of single site catalyst for making superior polyolefin
resins set another technological trend, marked with Metallocene Catalysts
having a precise control over molecular architecture for highly tailored
polymers; improved processing; and properties for all polyolefins. This
technology has been developed and designed for nonwoven applications
[1]. The manufacturer may be able to take properties and very low
extractables. Advantage of the higher barrier properties is to reduce basis
weight or increase line speed. Because this material is so clean, the nonwoven
manufacturer may be able to extend the intervals between die changes and
process clean-ups. The absence of peroxide in this product leads to reduced
viscosity variations and more consistent extrusion performance. Reduced
process air rates are possible with this material, which can reduce energy
costs. Due to these advantages, this innovative new melt blown material is
expected to gain rapid acceptance in the nonwovens industry.
2. Advantages of Metallocene Polypropylene
(PP)
Metallocene catalysts offer unique advantages versus conventional catalysts.
They allow producing consistent, controllable molecular structures that can be
designed to:
Improve toughness
Provide excellent impact resistance
Reduce haze
Provide excellent organoleptics (low off-taste and odor)
Allow tailoring of processing characteristics to fit the conversion process
It allows control the molecular structure of polyolefines.
It enables to virtually eliminate non-targeted molecular weight species in
resins
It allows incorporation of co-monomers and ter-monomers with
precision.
It offers a greater control of molecular weight distribution (MWD).
It leaves a small amount of catalyst residue in the finished product.
2.1 Specialty of metallocene catalyst
In PP manufacturing, the monomers are reacted using a catalyst. All catalysts
have reactive sites enabling them to perform their function, i.e. linking
individual molecules of monomers to form a polymeric chain. Conventional
catalysts have many reactive sites located randomly on the surface of the
catalysts. This produces different and varying polymers (See fig-1 below). The
new catalyst system, which is known as single site catalyst, also has many
reactive sites, but all sites are identical. This in turn gives identical polymers
and does away variability of polymers.
Fig. 1: Comparison of two types of catalysts [2]
3. Metallocene based PP Nonwowens
Metallocene based PP resins for nonwovens and fiber applications can help to
produce polymers with very low catalyst residues and very high purity. The
polymer modification process, called controlled rheology, enables us to tailor
the resin for the specific need of nonwovens applications. Advantages of the
fiber grade metallocene based PP resin in spunbonding and melt blowing over
the conventional resin:
It produces finer denier fibers than conventional resins.
The optimum bonding temperatures are lower because of the lower
melting point
Excellent spinning continuity or fewer breaks in spinning.
Spinning can be carried out at higher draw force.
Substantial reduction in volatile deposits.
Available in broader MFR range, especially helpful for melt blowing.
Key features of Metallocene Polymers
The primary feature that makes metallocene-catalyzed polymers preferable to
conventional polymers is structural uniformity, which eliminates very low and
high molecular weight polymer components present with conventional
catalysts (Fig.2).
Table -1 Comparison of Metallocene PP with Conventional PP
Product Attribute Metallocene Conventional PP
Melting Point ( C) 148 162
Flexural Modulus (MPa) 1380 1360
MWD (Mw/Mn) 2.0 3.5 / (2.8) *
Recoverable Compliance 0.4 3.5 / (0.9) *
Fig. 3: Thermo mechanical analysis (TMA) of filaments from different PP
[4]
Fig. 4: Tensile strength comparison of filaments from different PP [4]
4. Applications
Presently, the metallocene based polyolefin polymers are produced by many
companies in the world, but among those, BASF, Germany, and ExxonMobile
Chemical Co., USA are the main producers of metallocene based PP. Exxon
began development of Escorene Polypropylene grades used for nonwovens in
1960, and introduced AchieveTM propylene polymers based on Exxpol
catalyst technology in 1995. This brought in overall property improvements
versus conventional polypropylene yielding finer and stronger fibers at a lower
production cost.
