Healthcare & medical, and other end-use industry drives the growth of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Market
The Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW PE) market is projected to reach USD 2.16 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2016 to 2021. This growth is mainly attributed to the increasing demand for UHMW PE from the healthcare & medical industry worldwide due to its properties such as self-lubrication, biocompatibility, and impact resistance.
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The global UHMW PE industry is quite new and competitive but fragmented. The global demand for UHMW PE is growing as it provides effortless material handling due to its lightweight, strength, and the fact that it is an adaptable multi-purpose material. Plastic is an inseparable part of all industries and any positive move or development in industrial activities drives the market for UHMW PE.
Major Market Developments
- In May 2016, Braskem has added sophisticated technical equipment to its Innovation and Technology Center located in Pittsburgh for its new UTEC Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW PE) plant in La Porte, Texas. This expansion has also provided access to a wide variety of other thermal and physical analyses, microscopy, and rheological capabilities.
- In January 2016, Celanese Corporation has expanded the production capacity of its GUR UHMW-PE at Bishop’s City, Texas. The new production plan has increased the total capacity to 30 KT per year. This expansion has helped the company launch new grades of GUR UHMW-PE for pharmaceutical applications such as filtering, purification of liquid drug formulations, and mechanically operated devices used in drug contact and delivery.
- In February 2016, Koninklijke DSM entered into an agreement with Toyobo Co. Ltd. (Japan) to expand its UHMW PE fiber manufacturing facility in Japan. The agreement involves investment refurbishment and up-gradation of their shared manufacturing facility located in Tsuruga City. After this agreement comes into effect, Toyobo will use its own trademark to sell Dyneema.
Healthcare & Medical
The healthcare & medical segment is projected to contribute the largest share in the consumption of UHMW PE worldwide, during the forecast period. Due to properties such as low absorption and self-lubrication, fatigue resistance, yield strength, and high elastic modulus, manufacturers prefer UHMW PE over other polymers. UHMW PE has excellent chemical resistance, excellent dielectric & electrical insulating properties, and superior sound dampening characteristics, owing to which it is increasingly used in the orthopedic industry.
Aerospace, Defense, and Shipping
UHMW PE is widely used in various applications in the aerospace, defense, and shipping industries. Features such as lightweight, thermal insulation, noise reduction, resistance to fatigue, resistance to wear, fuel resistance, de-icing, fluid resistance, electrostatic dissipation, low friction, and chemical resistance make UHMW PE ideal for use in these industries. In aerospace, it is used in interior design (tray tables, windows, canopies, armrests, valve seats), exterior structures, propulsion equipment, and so on. It is also used as a base material to shield cosmic radiation in the aerospace application.
Mechanical Equipment
UHMW PE is widely used for machining processes in various industries such as textiles, paper & pulp, foods & beverages, iron & steel, bottling, power, railcars, cement, chemical, minerals & metals, farm machinery, unit material handling, parcel handling, conveyor equipment, distribution centers, and so on. UHMW PE helps to enhance surface lubricity which leads to the free movement of machine components and reduces jamming from dirt, grit, or static build-up.
The most common applications of UHMW PE in mechanical equipment include belt skirting, chute liners, hopper liners, transfer plates, under belt wear strips, guide rollers, diverter bars, dead plates, hitch plates, belt scrapers, bunker liners, cyclones, dragline buckets, pug mill paddles, vibratory feeder liners, vibrator bin discharges, surge bin liners, silo liners, screw conveyor liners, off-road truck beds, dust collection hopper liners, and conveying components such as bearings, belt guides, chain guides, curves, guide rails, and wear strips.
