Polypropylene

Polypropylene An A-Z reference

Edited by

J. Karger-Kocsis Institute for Composite Materials Ud. University of Kaiserslautern Germany

and

Technical University of Budapest Hungary

..... " SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.

A c.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

ISBN 978-94-010-5899-5 ISBN 978-94-011-4421-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-4421-6

An Rights Reserved

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1999 Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1999 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1999

No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, inc1uding photocopying, record ing, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the copyright owner.

Contents

List of contributors ix

Preface xxi

Adhesive bonding of polypropylene 1 Amorphous or atactic polypropylene 7 Anticorrosion coatings with polypropylene 13 Antistatic and conducting composites of polypropylene 20 Appliances 29 Application of shear-controlled orientation in injection molding

of isotactic polypropylene 38 Automation in injection molding 47 Beta-modification of isotactic polypropylene 51 Biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) processes 60 Bumper recycling technology 68 Calendering of polypropylene 76 Commingled yarns and their use for composites 81 Construction principles of injection molds 90 Controlled rheology polypropylene 95 Copolymerization 104 Crash performance of glass fiber reinforced polypropylene tubes 116 Crazing and shear yielding in polypropylene 124 Crosslinking of polypropylene 128 Crystallization 135 Crystallization of syndiotactic polypropylene 142 Designing properties of polypropylene 148 Die swell or extrudate swell 158 Dielectric relaxation and dielectric strength of polypropylene

and its composites 163 Dyeing of polypropylene fibers 172 Elastomeric polypropylene homopolymers using metallocene

catalysts 178

VI Contents

Electron microscopy 186 Elongational viscosity and its meaning for the praxis 198 Environmental stress cracking of polypropylene 206 Epitaxial crystallization of isotactic and syndiotactic polypropylene 215 Extrusion die design guidelines for polypropylene 221 Fatigue performance of polypropylene and related composites 227 Fiber orientation due to processing and its prediction 233 Fillers for polypropylene 240 Fire hazard with polypropylene 247 Flame-retardant polypropylene compositions 254 From quality control to quality assurance in injection molding 264 Gamma-phase of isotactic polypropylene 267 Gas diffusion in and through polypropylene 273 Geotextiles and geomembranes 277 Glass mat reinforced thermoplastic polypropylene 284 Hard-elastic or 'springy' polypropylene 291 High-modulus and high-strength polypropylene fibers and films 295 Impregnation techniques for fiber bundles or tows 301 In-situ reinforced polypropylene blends 307 Industrial polymerization processes 314 Infrared and Raman spectroscopy of polypropylene 320 Injection molding of isotactic polypropylene 329 Injection molding: various techniques 335 Integrated manufacturing 341 Interfacial morphology and its effects in polypropylene composites 348 Intumescent fire retardant polypropylene formulations 357 Joining: methods and techniques for polypropylene composites 366 Lamella dimension and distribution 374 'Living' or plastic hinges 383 Long term properties and lifetime prediction for polypropylene 392 Mathematical modelling of propylene polymerization 399 Mechanical and thermal properties of long glass fiber reinforced

polypropylene 407 Melt blowing technology 415 'Melt fracture' or extrudate distortions 421 Melt spinning of polypropylene 427 Melt spinning: technology 440 Metallocene catalyzed polymerization: industrial technology 446 Metallocene catalysis and tailor-made polyolefins 454 Microporous polypropylene films and fibers 476 Miscibility and phase separation in polypropylene blends 484 Modelling and analysis of composites' thermoforming 489 Modelling of the compression behavior of polypropylene foams 496

Contents Vll

Molecular structure: characterization and related properties of homo- and copolymers 503

Morphology and nanostructure of polypropylenes by atomic force microscopy 511

Morphology-mechanical property relationships in injection molding 519

Natural fiber/polypropylene composites 527 Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of polypropylene

copolymers 533 Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of polypropylene

homopolymers 540 Nucleation 545 Optical clarity of polypropylene products 554 Orientation characterization in polypropylene 561 p-V - T data and their uses 569 Particulate filled polypropylene composites 574 Photo stabilizers 581 Pigmentation of polypropylene 591 Polymer blends: fundamentals 601 Polymorphism in crystalline polypropylene 606 Polypropylene blends with commodity resins 615 Polypropylene blends with elastomers 621 Polypropylene blends with engineering and speciality resins 627 Polypropylene foams 635 Polypropylene in automotive applications 643 Polypropylene in cable applications 652 Polypropylene/ continuous glass fibre composite pipes: design

principles 658 Processing of polypropylene blends 663 Processing-induced morphology 668 Properties of glass fibers for polypropylene reinforcement 678 Pultrusion of glass fiber/polypropylene composites 686 Reactive compatibilization of polypropylene 694 Recycling of polypropylene 701 Resistance to high-energy radiation 706 Rheology of polypropylene 715 Roll forming of composite sheets 721 Rolltrusion processing of polypropylene for property improvement 728 Size exclusion chromatography 736 Solid-state forming of polypropylene 744 Special polypropylene fibers 752 Spherulitic crystallization and structure 759 Split fiber production 769 Squeeze flow in thermoplastic composites 776

Vll1 Contents

Structure-property relationships in polypropylene fibers 783 Surface modification of polypropylene by additives 790 Surface modification of polypropylene by plasmas 794 Surface treatment of polypropylene by corona discharge and flame 800 Textile applications of polypropylene fibers 806 Textile polypropylene fibers: fundamentals 813 Thermal antioxidants 821 Thermally stimulated currents of polypropylene and its composites 832 Thermoforming of fiber-reinforced composite sheets 841 Thermoforming of polypropylene 847 Thermoplastic dynamic vulcanizates 853 Warpage and its prediction in injection-molded parts 859 Weathering 866 Weldlines 874 Wood-polypropylene composites 882 X-ray scattering 890 Ziegler-Natta catalysis and propylene polymerization 896

List of contributors

Abdellah Ajji Industrial Materials Institute, National Research Council Canada, 75 Boulevard de Mortagne, Boucherville, Quebec, J4B 6Y 4, Canada

S. AI-Malaika Polymer Processing and Performance Group, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK

Erik Andreassen SINTEF Materials Technology, PO Box 124 Blindern, N-0314 Oslo, Norway

Gyorgy Banhegyi Furukawa Electric Institute of Technology, H-1158 Budapest, Kesmark u. 24-28, Hungary

G. Bechtold Institut fur Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, University of Kaiserslautern, D-67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

J. Bentham Borealis Deutschland GmbH, Morsenbroicher Weg 200, D-40474 DUsseldorf, Germany

K. Bernreiter PCD Polymere GmbH, PO Box 675, A-4021 Linz, Austria

Michael J. Bevis Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing, Department of Materials Engineering, BruneI University, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK

D. Bhattacharyya Composites Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Aukland, New Zealand

Eric Bond Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-2200, USA

x List of contributors

P.-E. Bourban Laboratoire de Technologie des Composites et Polymeres, Ecole Poly technique Federale de Lausanne, CH-I015 Lausanne, Switzerland

Serge Bourbigot Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique et de Physico-Chimie des Solides, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Lille, Universite des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, BP 108, F-59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex, France

C. Brockmann Institut fUr Kunststoffverarbeitung, RWTH Aachen, Pontstr. 49, 0-52056 Aachen, Germany

W. Brockmann Werkstoff- und Obermichentechnik, Universitat Kaiserslautern, 0-67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

Witold Brostow Department of Materials Science, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203-5310, USA

S. Bruckner Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnolgie Chimiche, University degli Studi di Udine, 1-33100 Udine, Italy

A. Brunswick Institut fUr Kunststoffverarbeitung, RWTH Aachen, Pontstr. 49, 0-52062 Aachen, Germany

H. Bucka PCD Polymere GmbH, PO Box 675, A-4021 Linz, Austria

A. Cervenka Manchester Materials Science Centre, University of Manchester and UMIST, Grosvenor Street, Manchester, Ml 7HS, UK

Chi-Ming Chan Department of Chemical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong PR China

Kwong Chan Institutes of Textiles and Clothing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Yuk Choi Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong PR China

R. Chatten Department of Materials Engineering, BruneI University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK

I. Chodcik Polymer Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, SK-842 36 Bratislava, Slovakia

List of contributors

G.R. Christie Composites Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

K.C. Cole Industrial Materials Institute, National Research Council Canada, 75 Boulevard de Mortagne, Boucherville, Quebec, J4B 6Y 4, Canada

J.-L. Costa Solvay Polyolefins Europe-Belgium, Rue de Ransbeek 310, B-1120 Brussels, Belgium

T. Czvikovszky

Xl

Department of Polymer Engineering and Textile Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Budapest, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary

A. Dehn Institut fiir Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, UniversWit of Kaiserslautern, D-67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

Rene Delobel Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique et de Physico-Chimie des Solides, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Lille, Universite des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, BP 108, F-59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex, France

R. Denzer Institut fur Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, UniversiHit of Kaiserslautern, D-67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

B.L. Deopura Textile Technology Department, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi 110016, India

M.M. Dumoulin ADS Composites Group, 275 North, Monfette Street, Thetford Mines, Quebec, G6G 7H4, Canada

Gottfried W. Ehrenstein Lehrstuhl fUr Kunststofftechnik, UniversWit Erlangen-Niirnberg, Am Weichselgarten 9, D-91058 Erlangen-Tennenlohe, Germany

P. Eyerer Institut fUr Polymer Testing (IKP), University of Stuttgart, Pfaffelwaldring 32, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany

J. Fiebig PCD Polymere GmbH, PO Box 675, A-4021 Linz, Austria

XlI List of contributors

B. Fisa Centre de recherche appliquee sur les polymeres (CRASP), Ecole Poly technique de Montreal, PO Box 6079, Station Centre Ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3A7, Canada

K. Friedrich Institut fur Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, UniversiHit of Kaiserslautern, D-67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

Mitsuyoshi Fujiyama Plastics Research Laboratory, Tokuyama Company, Tokuyama City, Yamaguchi 745, Japan

M. Gahleitner PCD Polymere AG, PO Box 675, A-4021 Linz, Austria

A. Galeski Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sienkiewicz a 112, PL-90 363 Lodz, Poland

William J. Gauthier Research and Technology Center, Fina Oil and Chemical Company, PO Box 1200, Deer Park, Texas 77536, USA

G.P' Guidetti Montell Polyolefins, G. Natta Research Centre, P. Ie Donegani 12, 1-44100 Ferrara, Italy

Archie E. Hamielec Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L7, Canada

K. Hammerschmid PCD Polymere GmbH, PO Box 675, A-4021 Linz, Austria

Eddy W. Hansen SINTEF Materials Technology, PO Box 124 Blindern, N-0314 Oslo 3, Norway

E. Harkin-Jones Department of Chemical Engineering, The Queen's University of Belfast, Ashby Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AH, Northern Ireland

T. Harmia Institut fur Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, Erwin-Schrodinger-Str. 58, D-67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

D.R. Hartman Owens-Corning Science and Technology Center, 2790 Columbus Road, Route 16, Granville, Ohio 43023-1200, USA

List of contributors xiii

Markku T. Heino NK Cables Ltd, PO Box 419, FIN-OOIOl Helsinki, Finland

Pavol Hodul Department of Fibres and Textile Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinskeho 9, SK-812 37 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

J.A. Horas Instituto de Matematica Aplicada San Luis, Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Fisico Matematicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Ejercito de los Andes 950, 5700 San Luis, Argentina

Martin Jambrich Department of Fibres and Textile Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinskeho 9, SK-812 37 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Just Jansz Montell Benelux bv, Westelijke Rondwegl, 4791 RS Klundert, The Netherlands

P.K. JarveUi Tampere University of Technology, Institute of Materials Science and Plastics Technology, PO Box 589, FIN-33101 Tampere, Finland

T.P.A JarveUi Tampere University of Technology, Institute of Materials Science and Plastics Technology, PO Box 589, FIN-33101 Tampere, Finland

Giirhan Kalay Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing, Department of Materials Engineering, BruneI University, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK

I. Karacan Zorlu Holding, Korteks, Organize Sanayi Bolgesi, Sari Caddesi No 3, Bursa, Turkey

J. Karger-Kocsis Institut fur Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, Universitat Kaiserslautern, PO Box 3049, D-67653 Kaiserslautern, Germany; Technical University of Budapest, Hungary

S. Kerth BASF AG, ZEW /BB-L443, D-67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany

R.J. Koopmans Dow Benelux N.V., PO Box 48, NL-4530 AA Terneuzen, The Netherlands

XIV List of contributors

J. Kressler Fachbereich Werkstoffwissenschaften, Institut fur Werkstoffwissenschaft, Martin-Luther-UniversWit Halle-Wittenberg, D-06099 Halle (Saale), Germany

Toshio Kunugi 890 Kitamiyaji, Kamiyama-cho, Nirasaki-shi, 407-0042, Japan

Toshio Kurauchi Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories Inc., Nagakute­cho, Aichi-gun, Aichi, 480-11, Japan

Francesco Paolo La Mantia Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica dei Processi e dei Materiali, Universita di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 1-90128 Palermo, Italy

Michel Le Bras Laboratoire de Genie des Procedes d'lnteractions Fluides Reactifs­Materiaux, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Lille, BP 108, F-59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex, France

K. Lederer Institut fUr Chemie der Kunststoffe, MontanuniversWit Leoben, A-8700 Leoben, Austria

H. Ledwinka PCO Polymere GmbH, PO Box 675, A-4021 Linz, Austria

N. Legros Industrial Materials Institute, National Research Council Canada, 75 Boulevard de Mortagne, Boucherville, Quebec, J4B 6Y 4, Canada

David J. Lohse Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Route 22 East, Annandale, New Jersey 08801, USA

Bernard Lotz Institut Charles Sadron, 6 rue Boussingault, F-67083 Strasbourg Cedex, France

A. Luciani Industrial Materials Institute, National Research Council Canada, 75 Boulevard de Mortagne, Boucherville, Quebec J4B 6Y 4, Canada; Ecole Poly technique Federale de Lausanne, Laboratoires de Technologie des Composites et Polymeres, LTC-OMX-EPFL, CH-I015 Lausanne, Switzerland

A. Lutz Institut fUr Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, Erwin-Schr6dinger-Str. 58, 0-67663 Kaiserslautem, Germany

List of contributors

N.J. Macauley Department of Chemical Engineering, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland

J.H. Magill

xv

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA

M. Maier Institut fur Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, UniversWit Kaiserslautem, D-67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

J.-A E. Manson Laboratoire de Technologie des Composites et Polymeres, Ecole Poly technique Federale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

Anton Marcincin Department of Fibres and Textile Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinskeho 9, SK-812 37 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

T.A. Martin Composites Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

T. Matsuoka Polymer Processing Laboratory, Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories Inc., Nagakute-cho, Aichi-gun, Aichi-ken 480-1192, Japan

W. John G. McCulloch J&M Laboratories, 12 J&M Drive, Dawsonville, GA 30534, USA

A. Meddad Centre de recherche appliquee sur les polymeres (CRASP), Ecole Poly technique de Montreal, PO Box 6079, Station Centre Ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3A7, Canada

S.Y. Meille Dipartimento di Chimica, Politecnico di Milano, Via Mancinelli 7-20131 Milano, Italy

D. Meyer Hohenstaufenstr. 11, D-73349 Wiesen steig, Germany

W. Michaeli Institut fUr Kunststoffverarbeitung, RWTH Aachen, Pontstr. 49, D-52062 Aachen, Germany

G.H. Michler Institut fUr Werkstoffwissenschaft, Martin-Luther-Universitat Halle­Wittenberg, Geusaer Str., D-06217 Merseburg, Germany

XVI List of contributors

Klaus-Peter Mieck Thiiringisches Institut fiir Textil- und Kunststoff-Forschung e.V., D-07407 Rudolstadt-Schwarza, Germany

Yukio Mizutani Tokuyama Corp., Fujisawa Research Laboratory, 2023-1 Endo, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa 252, Japan

F. Moller Institut fur Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, UniversWit Kaiserslautern, D-67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

R. Miilhaupt Freiburger Materialforschungzentrum und Institut fiir Makromolekulare Chemie der Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany

W.R. Murphy Department of Chemical Engineering, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 INN, Northern Ireland

Ikuo Narisawa Materials Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, Yonezawa, Yamagata 992, Japan

I. Naundorf ITT Cannon GmbH, Cannostr. D-71384 Weinstadt, Germany

W. NeiBl PCD Polymere GmbH, PO Box 675, A-4021 Linz, Austria

I. Novak Polymer Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, SK-842 36 Bratislava, Slovakia

U. Panzer PCD Polymere GmbH, PO Box 675, A-402I Linz, Austria

B. Pietsch Ciba Specialty Chemicals Inc., PO Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland

Bela Pukanszky Department of Plastics and Rubber Technology, Technical University of Budapest, PO Box 92, H-1521 Budapest, Hungary; Central Research Institute for Chemistry, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, PO Box 17, H-1525 Budapest, Hungary

M. Ratzsch PCD Polymere GmbH, PO Box 675, A-4021 Linz, Austria

Keith Redford SINTEF Materials Technology, PO Box 124 Blindern, N-03I4 Oslo 3, Norway

List of contributors

G.L. Rigosi Montell Polyolefins, G. Natta Research Centre, P. Ie Donegani 12, 1-44100 Ferrara, Italy

M.G. Rizzotto

XVll

Instituto de Matematica Aplicada San Luis, Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Fisico Matematicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Ejercito de los Andes 950, 5700 San Luis, Argentina

Norio Sato Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories Inc., Nagakute­cho, Aichi-gun, Aichi, 480-11, Japan

K. Schafer Barmag AG, PO Box 11 0240, D-42862 Remscheid, Germany

M.J. Schneider Freiburger Materialforschungzentrum und Institut fiir Makromolekulare Chemie der Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str. 21, D-79l04 Freiburg, Germany

J ukka V. Seppal Nokia Cables, PO Box 419, FIN-OOlOl Helsinki, Finland

T.J. Shields Fire SERT Centre, University of Ulster, 75 Belfast Road, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim BT38 8PH, Northern Ireland

Joao B.P. Soares Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3Gl, Canada

J.E. Spruiell Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-2200, USA

M. Steiner Institut fiir Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, Universitat Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrodinger-Str. 58, D-67663 Kaiserslautem, Germany

Tomasz Sterzynski Department Polymeres-ECPM, Universite Louis Pasteur Strasbourg I, 4 rue Boussingault, F-6700 Strasbourg, France; Poznan University of Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, PL-60-965 Poznan, Poland

J. Suhm Freiburger Materialforschungzentrum und Institut fiir Makromolekulare Chemie der Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str. 21, D-79l04 Freiburg, Germany

XVlll List of contributors

Hidero Takahashi Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories Inc., Nagakute­cho, Aichi-gun, Aichi, 480-11, Japan

Conchita V. Tran Union Carbide (Europe) SA, 7 Rue du Pre-Bouvier, CH-1217 Meyrin, Switzerland

J.L. Thomason Owens-Corning Science and Technology Center, 2790 Columbus Road, Route 16, Granville, Ohio 43023-1200, USA

J. U1cej Extrusion Dies Inc., 911 Kurth Road, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin 54729-1443, USA

L.A. Utracki Industrial Materials Institute, National Research Council Canada, 75 Boulevard de Mortagne, Boucherville, Quebec J4B 6Y 4, Canada

G.J. Vancso Materials Science and Technology of Polymers, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Twente, PO Box 217, NL-7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

J6zsef Varga Department of Plastics and Rubber Technology, Technical University of Budapest, PO Box 92, H-1521 Budapest, Hungary; Lehrstuhl fUr Kunststofftechnik, Universitat Erlangen-Niirnberg, Am Weichselgarten 9, 0-91058 Erlangen-Tennenlohe, Germany

'D. Vesely Department of Materials Engineering, BruneI University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK

M.H. Wagner Institut fUr Kunststofitechnologie der Universitat Stuttgart, Boblinger Str. 70, 0-70199 Stuttgart, Germany

Michael Wehmann J&M Laboratories, Kolpingstr. 34a, 0-63150 Heusenstamm, Germany

J.R. White Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK

Jean Claude Wittmann Institut Charles Sadron, 6 rue Boussingault, F-67083 Strasbourg Cedex, France

List of contributors XIX

M. Xanthos Polymer Processing Institute at Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University Heights, Newark, New Jersey NJ 07102, USA

J. Zhang Fire Research Centre, University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim BT38 8PH,Northern Ireland

" Edesapam emlekenek

In memory of my father

Preface

My heart sank when I was approached by Dr Hastings and by Professor Briggs (Senior Editor of Materials Science and Technology and Series Editor of Polymer Science and Technology Series at Chapman & Hall, respectively) to edit a book with the provisional title Handbook of Poly­propylene. My reluctance was due to the fact that my former book [1] along with that of Moore [2], issued in the meantime, seemed to cover the information demand on polypropylene and related systems. Encour­aged, however, by some colleagues (the new generation of scientists and engineers needs a good reference book with easy information retrieval, and the development with metallocene catalysts deserves a new update!), I started on this venture.

Having some experience with polypropylene systems and being aware of the current literature, it was easy to settle the titles for the book chapters and also to select and approach the most suitable potential contributors. Fortunately, many of my first-choice authors accepted the invitation to contribute.

Like all editors of multi-author volumes, I recognize that obtaining contributors follows an S-type curve of asymptotic saturation when the number of willing contributors is plotted as a function of time. The saturation point is, however, never reached and as a consequence, Dear Reader, you will also find some topics of some relevance which are not explicitly treated in this book (but, believe me, I have considered them). On the other hand, I am quite sure that even for those missing themes you will find valuable notes and hints in the many chapters of this book.

During my editing I have had considerable support from some col­leagues, whom I want to give credit here: Professor Utracki (CNR, Boucherville, Canada), Dr Neilll (PCD, Linz, Austria) and Professor Miilhaupt (FMF, Freiburg, Germany). They ensured the delivery of several chapters by 'persuading' their staff and coworkers to contribute.

XXll Preface

Thanks are, however, due to all contributors for their efficient work. The outcome of all the effort is represented by this book.

The editor wishes to thank David Mackin and the staff at GreenGate Publishing Services for their work in helping to produce the book.

I strongly hope that you, Dear Reader, will be satisfied with it!

A.m.D.g

REFERENCES

J6zsef Karger-Kocsis Kaiserslautem and Budapest

October, 1997

1. Karger-Kocsis, J. (ed.) (1995) Polypropylene: Structure, Blends and Composites, Vols. 1-3, Chapman & Hall, London.

2. Moore, Jr., E.P. (ed.) (1996) Polypropylene Handbook, Hanser, Munich.