Business and Technology of the Global Polyethylene Industry: An In-depth Look at the History, Technology, Catalysts, and Modern Commercial Manufacture of Polyethylene and Its Products

Chapter 7

Experimental Methods for Polyethylene Research Program

7.1 Introduction

The growth in the polyethylene industry since the 1940s has been due to the development of new technology primarily in the area of new catalysts and the polymerization processes necessary to manufacture the polyethylene prepared from these catalysts. These innovations were responsible for the introduction of a wide variety of polyethylene structures that were developed for new applications.

It was evident in the beginning of the polyethylene industry in the mid-1930s that the scientists in the research laboratories at Imperial Chemicals Industries (ICI) relied on a unified effort from scientists with a wide variety of different skills to commercialize polyethylene. Such cooperation between scientists and engineers has always been a key component necessary for growth in the polyethylene industry.

As new catalyst technology emerged over the past 65 years for the low-pressure manufacture of polyethylene, scientists that specialize in different areas of the polyethylene industry continued to utilize coordinated teams to commercialize new polyethylene technology. This approach is oft en seen by the relatively large number of people cited as co-inventors on patents that are issued to protect the intellectual property related to polyethylene areas.

New technology advances through three developmental stages are summarized in Table 7.1.

Table 7.1 Innovation steps required to commercialize new products.