Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
4ec4b252-5cd5-4f64-a7e7-07efaace356a
Materials
Associated ID
069aedba-d05c-402f-a618-180570ba3d08
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
Polyethylene (PE) resin, in the form of cylindrical pellets with a moisture content of ≤ 0.05 wt%, is primarily used in applications such as agricultural films, liners, and polymer blends. This dataset covers the main raw materials, auxiliary inputs, and energy consumption required for production, as well as associated atmospheric emissions and wastewater discharge. The system boundary excludes infrastructure, including the manufacturing of production equipment and the construction of facilities. The life cycle inventory (LCI) was compiled by integrating data from multiple sources. The polyethylene plant employs a low-pressure gas-phase polymerization process. Key production stages include: raw material purification and degassing, additive preparation, catalyst preparation, polymerization reaction, resin degassing and off-gas recovery, extrusion and pelletizing, and product packaging.
Activity Description
The production units of the polyethylene plant mainly include raw material purification and degassing, additive preparation, catalyst preparation, polymerization reaction, resin degassing and off-gas recovery, and extrusion granulation.
Process Description
Polyethylene (PE) resin is a non-toxic, odorless, and tasteless material with a milky-white, waxy granular appearance and low gloss. It has a moisture content of ≤ 0.05 wt%. PE resin is insoluble in most organic solvents and only sparingly soluble in hot toluene and acetic acid. Its primary applications include agricultural films, liners, and polymer blends.
Time period
2016
2026
Geography
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
The low-pressure gas-phase polyethylene process employs coordination polymerization, catalyzed by a high-activity catalyst system that enables ethylene polymerization at low pressures. The catalyst forms a highly active complex upon activation, which efficiently initiates and propagates the chain-growth polymerization of ethylene. In this process, 1-butene is used as a comonomer to modify and enhance the polymer's properties. Isopentane (ICA) serves as an induced condensing agent (ICA) to control the reactor temperature through evaporative cooling and does not participate chemically in the reaction. Hydrogen is introduced primarily as a chain-transfer agent to regulate the polymer's molecular weight. The principal polymerization reaction is represented as: nH2C=CH2 -> [CH2-CH2]n.