SABIC® HDPE ICP5602 mainly dressed in Blue
Every day our industries produce large amounts of end products, intermediates and industrial chemicals which need to be packed and transported to plants/transformers/convertors/fillers etc. One common way of packaging these products are 200-220 L drums which have only two small defined openings on the top for filling and draining.
These drums are called Tight Head (or L-ring) drums and are typically used for liquids. The name L-ring comes from the L-shape design at the top of the drum which makes it easy to handle with equipment which is also used for metal drums.
In the past, chemical industries used to have their own coloured drums, therefore forcing the drum producers to often change their colour master batches, resulting in significant cost increase. The industries then jointly agreed to change to one colour, blue, to increase cost efficiency. This is now common practice.
Sometimes dangerous goods need to be transported, in which case the L-ring drums need to withstand high requirements, set by national and international regulations which are based on United Nation recommendations. A L-ring drum which meets these requirements is coded with an unique UN marking. The UN testing consists of stacking tests, drop tests at -18C and hydraulic pressure tests which can be combined with different test fluids such as white spirit, wetting agents, nitric acid etc. UN approvals are costly, both money and time wise.
Sometimes dangerous goods need to be transported, in which case the L-ring drums need to withstand high requirements, set by national and international regulations which are based on United Nation recommendations. A L-ring drum which meets these requirements is coded with an unique UN marking. The UN testing consists of stacking tests, drop tests at -18C and hydraulic pressure tests which can be combined with different test fluids such as white spirit, wetting agents, nitric acid etc. UN approvals are costly, both money and time wise.
From above it is clear that high requirements are posed on the manufacturing of L-ring drums and the materials used to produce them.
In 2008, MAUSER, a global producer of industrial packaging, and SABIC joined forces to develop a new generation of HDPE for L-ring drums which would set new standards in processing performance and system cost reduction. The intense cooperation between MAUSER operational processing experts and SABIC product development specialists quickly showed results with the introduction of SABIC® HDPE ICP5602.
SABIC® HDPE ICP5602 (ICP=Industrial Container Product) combines outstanding stiffness/impact balance with optimal environmental stress crack resistance and chemical resistance. The high flow and high density makes SABIC® HDPE ICP5602 a unique product which can be used for the production of UN approved Tight Head drums. The granulate form of the material is an advantage in regard to material handling and cleanness in factories. SABIC® HDPE ICP5602 has a Food Contact Declaration.
Please note: it is the responsibility of our customers to check if the materials supplied by SABIC and articles made out of it are suitable for the intended use and comply with all applicable regulations and requirements.