Polypropylene as a Promising Plastic: A Review

This paper critically reviews polypropylene (PP) material in several aspects. The aim of this study is to prove that polypropylene is a promising plastic by showing its great chemical, physical and mechanical properties, understanding and comparing between PP types as well as thermoplastics to identify their pros and cons, providing a comprehensive explanation regarding to Dow/UNIPOL PP technology process, and including extensive reviews on infinite number of PP applications. It is found that PP is the main output of propylene among other derivatives with two-thirds consumption rate. PP is the lightest type of plastics with a density of 0.90 g/cm 3 . Homo-polymer PP (HPP) has a market share of 65-75%. Branching, reinforcing and filling PP are some techniques to produce plastics with superior mechanical properties. Semi-crystalline isotactic polypropylene (iPP) showed appropriate optical characteristics upon recycling. BOPP and PP-OH films are ideal plastics for electrical applications. There are 26 operating PP plants and 4 PP plants in construction around the globe. PP applications include, but not limited to, fabrics, films, bottles, sheets and automotive products.