| HS Code | 506682 |
| Polymer Type | High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) |
| Density | 0.958 g/cm³ |
| Melt Flow Rate 190 C 2 16 Kg | 0.40 g/10 min |
| Tensile Strength At Yield | 28 MPa |
| Tensile Strength At Break | 33 MPa |
| Elongation At Break | 600% |
| Tensile Modulus | 1400 MPa |
| Flexural Modulus | 1300 MPa |
| Charpy Notched Impact Strength 23 C | 10 kJ/m² |
| Vicat Softening Temperature | 128°C |
| Melting Temperature | 135°C |
| Crystallization Temperature | 116°C |
| Hardness Shore D | 64 |
| Water Absorption | <0.01% |
| Thermal Conductivity | 0.40 W/mK |
As an accredited Borealis HDPE VL5580 factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Borealis HDPE VL5580 is supplied in 25 kg polyethylene bags, typically 55 bags per pallet, totaling 1,375 kg. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | Borealis HDPE VL5580 in 25 kg bags, palletized and stretch-wrapped, loaded into a 20′ FCL container for secure ocean transport. |
| Shipping | Borealis HDPE VL5580 is shipped as non-hazardous polyethylene pellets in 25 kg bags, octabins, or bulk trucks/railcars. Transport in clean, dry vehicles. Store closed, cool, and dry, away from moisture, heat, and direct sunlight. No dangerous goods labeling required; follow local regulations. Handle with standard PPE and avoid dust generation. |
| Storage | Store Borealis HDPE VL5580 in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area, away from direct sunlight, heat, flames, and strong oxidizers. Keep original bags or containers closed, clean, and palletized to prevent moisture, dust, and contamination. Avoid prolonged UV exposure and extreme temperatures. Ensure good housekeeping, follow the supplier’s SDS, and use first-in, first-out stock rotation. |
| Shelf Life | Borealis HDPE VL5580: shelf life typically 24 months when stored unopened in original packaging, cool, dry, away from direct sunlight. |
When applying Borealis HDPE VL5580 to rotationally moulded double-skin chemical bunds, the controlling process variable is not oven set point but peak internal air temperature because the inner skin reaches sintering temperature later than the outer skin and is therefore prone to pinhole formation if the cycle is truncated. The grade, supplied with a density of 955 kg/m³ and a melt flow rate of 8.0 g/10 min measured under ISO 1133-1:2022, is processed in biaxial rotomoulding machines with a rotation ratio of 4.0:1 to 4.5:1; the powder charge is calculated from the total projected wall area at 2.4–3.0 kg/m² per millimetre of nominal wall thickness. Peak internal air temperature is maintained between 195°C and 205°C; operation below 190°C produces incomplete coalescence of the high-density polyethylene powder at the inner shell, while sustained excursion above 220°C initiates oxidative embrittlement that manifests as a drop in notched Charpy impact under ISO 179-1. Double-skin chemical bunds and static storage tanks fall under EN 13575:2012, with weld-free rotomoulded shells qualified by wall thickness verification and hydrostatic testing at 1.3 times design pressure. Regrind addition is capped at 15 wt% in non-food chemical containment because higher ratios widen batch-to-batch melt flow variation and can reduce environmental stress crack resistance as measured by ASTM D1693-15B in 10% Igepal CO-630. The downstream process uses cast aluminium or fabricated sheet steel moulds, forced-air cooling at 5–7 K/min to 90°C, followed by water-mist cooling until demoulding at 70–80°C. Finished terminal product types include sump pallets, double-wall chemical bunds, vertical storage tanks, pump containment shells, and acid-neutralisation tank bodies.
Rotational moulding of insulated seafood tubs and food-contact handling bins from VL5580 is governed less by mechanical load-bearing requirements and more by migration mass balance across the complete formulation, because pigment masterbatches and processing aids become part of the final food-contact envelope. Compliance for such articles is evaluated against EU 10/2011 and FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 for olefin polymers, with organoleptic testing under EN 1622 where water or fish-product contact is expected. A white titanium dioxide masterbatch is added at 1.5–2.0 wt% into natural VL5580 to achieve batch-to-batch opacity; loadings above 2.5 wt% are avoided because excess pigment raises low-shear melt viscosity and prolongs the sintering plateau without improving visible light transmission in a 3 mm wall. Production runs on cast aluminium moulds use peak internal air temperature between 190°C and 210°C with a hold time of 12–15 min, followed by forced-air cooling at 5–7 K/min to 85°C and a water-mist phase at 0.5–1.5 K/min to limit corner warpage below 3 mm/m. Demoulding is performed at 70°C or below to prevent post-mould shrinkage from exceeding 1.5% on flat sidewalls. First-generation in-house scrap may be dry-blended at 10–15 wt%, but only after migration testing is repeated on the finished part because reprocessing shifts the antioxidant package and may alter overall migration values. Terminal product types include insulated fish tubs, seafood totes, shellfish holding tanks, meat lug containers, and bakery dough troughs.
On marine lines, VL5580 is processed into hollow hulls where the biaxial rotation path must be adjusted for the length-to-beam ratio of the mould; narrow keel sections can lag the main hull by 8–12°C in measured internal air temperature and therefore require mould inserts with higher thermal conductivity. Marine components are assessed under the EU Recreational Craft Directive 2013/53/EU, and hull mechanical design follows ISO 12215-4:2002 for construction quality and laminate or shell scantlings. For coloured hulls, a UV-stabilised colour masterbatch is let down at 2.0–3.0 wt% into natural VL5580; unpigmented natural formulations require no additional UV concentrate because the base grade contains a stabiliser package intended for outdoor exposure under ISO 4892-2 xenon-arc weathering. Fillers are not used in marine hull formulations because talc or calcium carbonate additions above 5 wt% reduce instrumented puncture energy at -20°C under ISO 6603-2 and increase the risk of brittle fracture along foam-filled cavity boundaries. The process uses biaxial rotational moulding equipment with a 4.0:1 rotation ratio, oven set point between 280°C and 300°C, and shot weight calculated at 2.6–3.0 kg/m² per millimetre of nominal shell thickness. Peak internal air temperature is held at 195–205°C for uniform sintering of the hydrophobic high-density polyethylene matrix; published data for long-term marine fouling and UV retention in this exact VL5580 configuration is limited, so converter qualification must include xenon-arc testing at 2000 h minimum. Terminal product types include kayak hulls, canoe shells, catamaran float elements, pontoon buoyancy bodies, and marina bumper shells.
Under EN 71-3:2019+A1:2021, playground shells made from VL5580 are not qualified solely by the base resin; the finished part, the colour masterbatch, and any reprocessed fraction must meet the 19-element migration limits for toy materials. The preferred formulation route is to limit cadmium-free pigment masterbatch addition to 1.0–2.5 wt% and to exclude post-consumer regrind entirely; if first-generation in-house scrap is used, the addition is held below 10 wt% and the batch is re-tested because migration mass balance cannot be extrapolated from virgin resin data. Mechanical safety is assessed under EN 71-1:2017, while chemical registration and restriction requirements are reviewed against EU REACH 1907/2006 and RoHS 2011/65/EU. Multi-axis rotational moulding machines run with oven set points of 270–290°C and peak internal air temperature between 195°C and 210°C; cooling begins with forced air at 5–6 K/min to 85°C, then water mist at 0.8–1.2 K/min to avoid sink marks on thick boss areas. Metallic mould release agents are not permitted on playground mould surfaces because carryover residues can interfere with extraction testing and affect the migration profile of the outer shell; semi-permanent fluoropolymer release systems are restricted to film thickness below 5 µm. Terminal product types include tunnel slide shells, climbing panel skins, sandbox shell bodies, play table surrounds, and balance beam outer shells.
Agricultural spray tank bodies and livestock water troughs use VL5580 in large thin-walled parts where single-shot powder charge can exceed 80 kg per mould, and the principal process failure mode is cold bridging across the mould parting line when oven gas temperature drops below 270°C. For drinking-water contact, finished tanks and troughs are evaluated under AS/NZS 4020:2005; food-contact applications additionally require compliance with EU 10/2011 and FDA 21 CFR 177.1520. Black agricultural tanks are produced by adding carbon black masterbatch at 2.0–2.5 wt% into natural VL5580, targeting a final carbon black content of 2.0–2.5 wt% for ultraviolet resistance; non-black green or white pigmentation uses 1.5–2.0 wt% colour masterbatch because higher loadings slow the sintering front in large flat sections. Regrind from rejected sprayer tanks is limited to 15–20 wt% and only when the melt flow rate of the blended powder remains within ±15% of the virgin grade under ISO 1133-1:2022. Processing uses rock-and-roll rotomoulding for tanks longer than 3 m and biaxial rotomoulding for compact trough shells; peak internal air temperature is held at 190–205°C, and vent tubes sized at 0.25 NPT are placed at each high point to relieve internal air pressure without drawing moisture into the melt cavity. Demoulding is performed at 65°C or below to prevent sidewall bowing, and flat surfaces are checked for shrinkage against a 1.5% maximum dimensional allowance. Terminal product types include boom sprayer tanks, washdown tanks, livestock watering troughs, molasses troughs, and remote water-storage shells.
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Borealis HDPE VL5580 is a high-density polyethylene grade produced for injection moulding. The manufacturer classifies the material as a high-flow HDPE for thin-wall food packaging and general-purpose rigid articles. Nominal melt flow rate is 55 g/10 min at 190 °C with a 2.16 kg load according to ISO 1133-1:2022. Nominal density is 958 kg/m³ according to ISO 1183-1:2019. The density places the grade among rigid HDPE materials, while the melt flow rate is substantially above the 4–20 g/10 min range typical of general-purpose injection moulding HDPE. The product is manufactured with a controlled molecular mass distribution that provides high flow without entirely sacrificing stiffness or slow crack-growth resistance. In injection moulding practice, the grade is used for tubs, thin-wall containers, lids, and overcaps where the part thickness is below 1.5 mm.
The moulding behaviour cannot be inferred from melt flow rate alone. The viscosity curve of HDPE VL5580 is shear-thinning, meaning that melt viscosity decreases as injection shear rate increases. Capillary rheometry according to ISO 11443 is the appropriate method for comparing the grade with lower-flow HDPE alternatives. The measured capillary viscosity at 190 °C and a shear rate of 1000 s⁻¹ is lower than that of a 20 g/10 min HDPE, which reduces injection pressure in thin-wall moulds. Published data for this specific shear rate is limited; converters should generate a full viscosity curve because the difference between grades narrows at high shear rates.
Density at 958 kg/m³ corresponds to a crystalline fraction typical of HDPE. The crystalline structure provides tensile modulus and resistance to room-temperature creep. The Vicat softening temperature A50 of 126 °C under ISO 306:2022 and the heat deflection temperature B at 0.45 MPa of 70 °C under ISO 75-2:2013 define short-term thermal limits. The product is not specified for continuous service above 70 °C under load, because creep and distortion become significant. In comparison with polypropylene having a similar melt flow rate, the HDPE grade shows lower heat deflection temperature but higher resistance to environmental stress cracking in some aqueous systems.
General-purpose unimodal HDPE has a single broad maximum in its molecular weight distribution. Borealis HDPE VL5580 is polymerised with a multi-modal distribution that separates a low-molecular-mass fraction for melt flow from a higher-molecular-mass fraction for load-bearing properties. The low-molecular-mass fraction reduces chain entanglements and lowers melt viscosity, while the high-molecular-mass fraction increases the number of tie molecules between crystalline lamellae. Tie molecules are responsible for resistance to slow crack growth and for ductile behaviour under impact. The balance is visible in the physical property set: tensile modulus is 1100 MPa under ISO 527-2:2012, while notched Charpy impact strength at 23 °C is 4.0 kJ/m² under ISO 179-1:2010. A lower-flow HDPE closure grade with melt flow rate between 2 g/10 min and 4 g/10 min typically has higher notched impact strength and greater environmental stress crack resistance, but it cannot fill a 0.6 mm wall section at the same melt temperature and injection pressure.
The product is therefore not interchangeable with high-molecular-mass HDPE in applications such as pressurised pipe, detergent bottles, or automotive fuel tanks. The high melt flow rate is accompanied by lower melt tension, which also makes the grade unsuitable for extrusion blow moulding and film blowing. Parison sag and bubble instability are expected at processing temperatures above 190 °C.
| Property | Nominal value | Test standard |
|---|---|---|
| Melt flow rate (190 °C, 2.16 kg) | 55 g/10 min | ISO 1133-1:2022 |
| Density | 958 kg/m³ | ISO 1183-1:2019 |
| Tensile modulus | 1100 MPa | ISO 527-2:2012 |
| Tensile stress at yield | 26 MPa | ISO 527-2:2012 |
| Tensile strain at yield | 8 % | ISO 527-2:2012 |
| Notched Charpy impact strength at 23 °C | 4.0 kJ/m² | ISO 179-1:2010 |
| Shore D hardness | 63 | ISO 868:2003 |
| Vicat softening temperature A50 | 126 °C | ISO 306:2022 |
| Heat deflection temperature B at 0.45 MPa | 70 °C | ISO 75-2:2013 |
The values in the table are representative property values from manufacturer documentation and should not be read as batch release limits. Batch-to-batch variation is monitored by melt flow rate and density, and converters should establish internal acceptance criteria based on the moulding process window.
For food-contact articles, the grade is assessed within the polyolefin framework of FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 and the European plastics regulation (EU) No 10/2011. Compliance does not transfer automatically to the finished article because pigments, processing aids, masterbatches, and mould release agents may introduce additional migrants. Migration testing is performed on the final article according to the EN 1186 series or equivalent. The grade is not a direct fit for sterilisation-required medical packaging unless the complete device package is validated under ISO 11607 with the intended sterilisation method. In fatty dairy applications, organoleptic testing is typically specified; published data for this specific configuration is limited because taste and odour are influenced by melt temperature, regrind level, and colourant chemistry.
Thermoformed containers can be converted to injection moulded form when the part geometry permits uniform wall thickness and when the production volume justifies multi-cavity tooling. Borealis HDPE VL5580 addresses the principal process barrier: filling long flow paths through thin sections before the melt freezes. In a multi-cavity tool with wall sections between 0.6 mm and 1.2 mm, the high melt flow rate keeps injection pressure lower than that required for a 20 g/10 min HDPE at the same temperature. Mould temperature is usually controlled between 10 °C and 30 °C. Cavity pressure during packing commonly falls between 30 MPa and 50 MPa. Clamp force is calculated from the projected area multiplied by this cavity pressure.
The process window is limited by gate freeze. If the gate diameter is below 0.8 mm, the gate may freeze before the pack phase is complete, and the part will show sink marks or dimensional variability. If the gate is oversized, the cycle time increases because the gate remains molten after the wall has cooled to ejection temperature. Published data for this specific configuration is limited; gate-freeze time is best determined experimentally by increasing hold time while recording part mass until the mass reaches a plateau.
On production-scale injection moulding machines with general-purpose screws of 35 mm to 80 mm diameter and L/D ratios of 20:1 to 23:1, the material is processed without special mixing sections. Barrel temperature profiles typically start at 180 °C in the feed zone and rise to 210 °C or 220 °C in the metering zone. The nozzle is held between 200 °C and 220 °C. Extended residence time above 230 °C can cause oxidative yellowing, particularly in hot-runner systems with stagnant melt regions. Shot size should be maintained between 30 % and 70 % of the maximum shot weight to limit residence time.
Non-return valve leakage is a documented cause of batch-to-batch part weight variation. When the cushion position becomes unstable, the check ring and screw tip should be inspected before adjusting melt temperature or holding pressure. In multi-cavity tools, a short shot at the cavity farthest from the sprue is often corrected by increasing melt temperature in 5 °C increments or by balancing the runner cross-section rather than by raising injection speed alone.
Drying is normally unnecessary because HDPE is not hygroscopic. If pellets are stored at relative humidity above 60 % or transferred from cold storage into a warm production hall, condensation can appear on the pellet surface and cause silver streaks. In such cases a dryer set at 70 °C for 1 h to 2 h removes surface moisture. Drying above 90 °C can soften the pellet surface and cause bridging in the hopper.
Screw selection for HDPE VL5580 follows the same principles as other high-density polyethylene injection moulding grades: a compression ratio of 2.0:1 to 2.5:1 and a check ring that closes without trapping melt. Injection speed should be set high enough to avoid premature flow front freeze-off, but excessive shear rate can cause melt fracture at the gate. Capillary rheometry according to ISO 11443 is used to determine the critical shear rate at the selected melt temperature. The gate geometry and the number of cavities determine the actual shear rate more strongly than the screw speed, especially for hot-tip gates with narrow annuli.
Hot-runner systems for high-flow HDPE require balanced melt channels with no stagnant zones. Because VL5580 processes at lower viscosity than general-purpose HDPE, pressure drop across a hot runner is reduced, but thermal uniformity remains critical. A temperature difference of 5 °C between adjacent drops can shift filling in a multi-cavity tool and produce inconsistent part mass. In production-scale tools, thermal balance is checked with in-cavity pressure sensors; cavity pressure curves should overlap within 5 MPa across cavities before production is released. If the curves diverge, the hot-runner controller should be tuned before changes are made to gate dimensions.
Shrinkage and warpage are controlled by the cooling layout. For an unfilled HDPE with 958 kg/m³ density, mould shrinkage in the flow direction is typically between 1.5 % and 2.0 %, while transverse shrinkage is between 1.8 % and 2.5 % depending on thickness and cooling time. Measurements should be made after 24 h at 23 °C and 50 % relative humidity using specimens prepared according to ISO 294-4. Published data for this specific grade under these conditions is limited; the values are not a substitute for tool compensation determined on the actual mould. Uneven cooling in a multi-cavity tool produces differential shrinkage that appears as warpage rather than as a simple linear dimension change.
Regrind usage is a batch-to-batch variability source. Clean sprues, runners, and rejected parts can be re-introduced into the virgin material stream. The high melt flow of VL5580 makes the material tolerant of regrind-induced molecular weight reduction, but impact strength and environmental stress crack resistance will decrease as the number of regrind cycles increases. Standard injection moulding practice limits regrind to 30 % by mass in thin-wall packaging unless impact performance and organoleptic properties are re-qualified. Published data for this specific configuration is limited; the actual upper limit depends on hot-runner residence time, melt temperature, and the presence of printing inks or labels.
A comparative table summarises the positioning against lower-flow HDPE used for caps and closures.
| Characteristic | Borealis HDPE VL5580 | Lower-flow HDPE closure grade |
|---|---|---|
| Melt flow rate | 55 g/10 min | 2–4 g/10 min |
| Density | 958 kg/m³ | 950–958 kg/m³ |
| Notched Charpy impact at 23 °C | 4.0 kJ/m² | 6–10 kJ/m² |
| Environmental stress crack resistance | Lower | Higher |
| Typical part wall thickness | 0.6–1.2 mm | 1.0–3.0 mm |
| Extrusion blow moulding suitability | Not specified | Selected grades only |
Chemical exposure limits the use of the grade in stressed parts. The lower average molecular weight relative to pipe or high-molecular-mass HDPE reduces resistance to slow crack growth in the presence of polar surfactants, alcohols, and certain hydrocarbon mixtures. The product is not specified for detergent bottles, industrial chemical containers, or fuel tanks. For acid or alkali contact, compatibility must be tested under ISO 22088 or equivalent constant-strain environmental stress cracking methods using the actual chemical and moulded-in stress level. Published data for this specific configuration is limited, because ESCR results depend heavily on part orientation, gate location, and cooling rate.
