(I) Physical Properties: Lightweight and Highly Adaptable Mechanical Properties
Polyethylene resin generally has a low density, ranging from 0.910-0.965 g/cm³, making it one of the lowest density types among commonly used plastics. This characteristic makes its products particularly lightweight, enabling them to reduce weight while maintaining basic strength in both packaging and industrial components.
In terms of mechanical properties, PE resin offers excellent toughness and impact strength, especially at low temperatures, maintaining good impact resistance (some models can operate normally at -40°C) and resisting brittle cracking. This makes it widely used in applications such as outdoor products and cold chain packaging. However, PE resin’s tensile strength and hardness are relatively moderate, not as outstanding as those of engineering plastics, making it more suitable for general-purpose applications where strength requirements are less extreme.
(II) Chemical Properties: Excellent Corrosion Resistance and Strong Chemical Stability
The molecular chain structure of polyethylene resin contains only carbon and hydrogen, and its molecular chains are highly regular, making it chemically inert. It exhibits excellent corrosion resistance to most acids, bases, and salts (such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide, within a certain concentration range) and organic solvents (such as ethanol, gasoline, and vegetable oils), without chemically reacting or dissolving.
PE resin also exhibits excellent water resistance and extremely low water absorption (typically less than 0.01%). It exhibits no swelling, deformation, or performance degradation even after prolonged contact with water, making it suitable for products in contact with water, such as pipes, water tanks, and aquaculture cages. However, it has poor tolerance to strong oxidizing substances (such as concentrated nitric acid and potassium permanganate solution), and prolonged exposure may cause degradation or degradation.
(III) Processing Performance: Easy Molding and Compatible with Various Processing Techniques
PE resin exhibits excellent thermoplastic properties, good melt flowability, and a wide molding temperature range (typically between 160-240°C). It is also resistant to decomposition and is compatible with a variety of mainstream plastic processing techniques, including injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, and calendering.
During processing, PE resin does not require complex pretreatment (such as drying due to its low water absorption), and the shrinkage of molded products is relatively stable (typically between 1.5% and 5%, which can be controlled by adjusting process parameters). This facilitates the production of products with moderate dimensional accuracy requirements, such as plastic bags, bottles, and pipes. Furthermore, PE resin can be optimized through blending, filling, and modification, further expanding its processing versatility.
(IV) Other Properties: Excellent Insulation, Environmentally Friendly, and Suitable for Recycling
PE resin offers excellent electrical insulation properties, high volume resistivity (greater than 10⁶Ω·cm), low dielectric loss, and high breakdown voltage, making it suitable for insulation applications such as wire and cable insulation and electronic component casings.
Regarding environmental protection, pure polyethylene resin is non-toxic and odorless, meeting food contact material standards (such as FDA certification) and can be used in the production of food packaging films, disposable tableware, and baby bottle accessories. Furthermore, PE resin recycling technology is mature, and after physical recycling, it can be reprocessed into products such as pipes, profiles, and trash cans, making it a recyclable plastic.