Fantastic plastic
Polypropylene articles, tubing and film were all on show at the international trade fair just held in Milan. Since it was first rumoured that Italian company Montecatini had succeeded in polymerising propylene, there has been keen interest in this possible new rival to polyethylene.
Two major difficulties hampered the development of the process – the instability of the polymer under oxidising conditions and a tendency for it to crystallise on ageing. These problems, it seems, have been largely overcome by the use of antioxidants and surface-active agents respectively, allowing polypropylene to have a much longer lifespan. This is…
