Know Your Plastics Series: High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
Identifying Synbol for HDPE/PEHD resin. Sometime in the 1930s, during the Second World War, the first HDPE was created, in the United Kingdom. Its first application? High-frequency radar cables. Fast forward 20plus years, the United States took on the commercial production of HDPE and, the polymer plastic has garnered popularity ever since. What is HDPE? A petroleum-based thermoplastic (click for more on thermoplastics) , High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) AKA Polyethylene High Density (PEHD) is widely renowned for its excellent strength levels –an outstanding strength-to-density ratio, tensile strength and specific strength. This strength is possible because HDPE polymers have little or no branching. The "little or no branching" characteristic results in significantly stronger intermolecular forces that make HDPE harder and more resistant to temperatures of up to 120 0 C (248 0 F) for short periods. This property also makes HDPE resistant to a lot of acids, caustics