Overviews on PMMA

MMA is;
Colorless and transparent liquid. Its polymer is hard and transparent resin like glass and has excellent weatherability, transparency and high gloss. Methyl H H C H Acrylate H C H C C O H C H H O Metha

MMA process chart

Naphtha Cracking Naphtha Cracking Isobutylene Isobutylene

Mixed C 44 Mixed C

Isobutylene Oxidation Isobutylene Oxidation

Butadiene Extraction Butadiene Extraction

Methyacrylic Acid Methyacrylic Acid MAA MAA

Raffinate -- 1 Raffinate 1 MeOH MeOH MTBE Sythesis MTBE Sythesis MTBE MTBE
H

MeOH MeOH Esterification Esterification

H H C C O H C H H O C H C H

MTBE Cracking MTBE Cracking

MMA MMA

PMMA is;
PMMA(PolyMethylMethAcrylate) is an acrylic resin, which is made from MMA(MethylMethAcrylate) monomer mainly. Now LG PMMAs are manufactured through co-polymerization of MMA with MA or MMA with EA. PMMA is widely used for its high colorability, elegant appearance, good weatherability as well as excellent transmission of 93% among many other resins.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Thermoplastics Liner polymer Amorphous Excellent light transmission Resistance to weathering High surface hardness Scratch resistance Excellent colorability and elegant appearance Heat resistance High rigidity Chemical resistance Recyclable

H H C H O H C H H n H C C O C H

PMMA Process Chart

MMA MMA MA MA EA EA Solution Make-up Solution Make-up Monomer Make-up Monomer Make-up
H H C H O H H C C O C H

Polymerization Polymerization

Slurry Slurry Drying Drying

C H H n

Bead Bead

PMMA PMMA

Extrusion Extrusion

Pellet Pellet

PMMA GRADES

TYPES OF PMMA GRADES

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS PMMA PMMA INJECTION INJECTION GRADES GRADES GRADES GRADES IH830 IH830 IG840 IG840 IF850 IF850 IF870 IF870 EXTRUSION EXTRUSION GRADES GRADES HIGH IMPACT HIGH IMPACT GRADES GRADES EH910 EH910 EG920 EG920 HI835 HI835 HI855 HI855
BASIC BEAD BASIC BEAD SPECIAL BEAD SPECIAL BEAD

PROPERTIES PROPERTIES
HEAT RESISTANCE HEAT RESISTANCE GENERAL-PURPOSE, GENERAL-PURPOSE, HIGH IMPACT & WHITE HIGH IMPACT & WHITE FLUIDITY FLUIDITY HIGH FLUIDITY HIGH FLUIDITY

GENERAL GENERAL GRADES GRADES

HEAT/CHEMICAL RESISTANCE HEAT/CHEMICAL RESISTANCE GENERAL-PURPOSE GENERAL-PURPOSE

HIGH IMPACT HIGH IMPACT HIGH IMPACT & FLUIDITY HIGH IMPACT & FLUIDITY

SPECIAL SPECIAL GRADES GRADES

BEAD GRADES BEAD GRADES

HEAT DEFLECTION TEMPERATURE

HEAT DEFLECTION TEMPERATURE

MOLECULAR WEIGHT

MOLECULAR WEIGHT

IMPACT STREGHTH

CO-MONOMER

CO-MONOMER

IMPACT STREGHTH

PMMA AND THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIS

FLUIDITY

CO-MONOMER

FLUIDITY

MOLECULAR WEIGHT

GENERAL GRADES OF PMMA

Classification Standard of GRADES

Types

Grades IH830

Properties Heat Resistance General-Purpose Good Fluidity Excellent Fluidity Heat Resistance General-Purpose MFI MFI

Remarks High HDT High High HDT High

Injection Molding General Grades

IG840 IF850 IF870

Extrusion Molding EG920

EH910

Fluidity Index

Fluidity Index

830 840 850 870

Characteristics of General Grades

910 920 Heat Deflection Temperature 830 840 850 870 910 920 VICAT Softening Point 910 920 830 840 850 870

Heat Deflection Temperature

VICAT Softening Point

Characteristics of General Grades

ROCKWELL Hardness Impact Strength Flexural Strength 830 840 850 870 ROCKWELL Hardness 830 840 850 870 910 920 930 Flexural Strength

830 840 850 870 Impact Strength

910 920 930

910 920 930

SPECIAL GRADES OF PMMA

HIGH IMPACT GRADES

High Impact Grades has solved such problems as cracks by heat and so on, while they keep the excellent transmission and weatherability of the existing PMMA. They are, so to speak, enhanced High Impact Series.

Types HI835H, HI835M, HI835S HI855H, HI855M, HI855S, HI855HX Physical Transparent Properties PMMA(855HX) ABS Remarks Transmission 90 1.2 2.45 Impact Strength 6 Haze Fluidity 88 2.0 7.3 11

230 3.8 ASTM D256, IZOD Impact

Characteristics of High Impact GRADES

Impact Strength ROCKWELL Hardness Fluidity Index HI835 M ROCKWELL Hardness S H HI835 M

HI835 M

Impact Strength

HI855 M

HX

HI855 M

HX

Fluidity Index HI855 M

HX

VICAT Softening Point HI855 M HI835 M S S H H HX HI855 M S S H HX Impact Strength M M S S H H HX HI835 HI855 M S H HX M S H HI855 HI835 H Fluidity Index HI835 M Heat Deflection Temperature

VICAT Softening Point

Characteristics of High Impact GRADES

Heat Deflection Temperature

BEAD GRADES
We produce acryl powder for artificial marbles, acrylic coatings, acrylic adhesives and paints on the basis of unique polymerization technology. BASIC BEAD GRADES LG Grades IH830B IG840B IF850B IF870B EH910B EG920B Methylmethacrylate Copolymer Coatings Coatings Coatings Artificial Marbles, Coatings, Adhesives Coatings, Adhesives Basis Monomers

BEAD GRADES SPECIAL BEAD GRADES

LG Basis Remarks Grades Monomers Methylmethacrylate BN490B Ink Binders, Coatings Copolymer PVC Leathers, Coating BN630B n -buthylmethacrylate /mma polymer Methylmethacrylate PVC Leathers, Coating BN890B Copolymer

Characteristics of Basic Bead Grades

V.N V.N V.N 910B 920B 630B

830B 840B 850B 870B

490B

890B

Tg

Tg

830B 840B 850B 870B

910B

920B

Tg 490B

630B

890B

Bead Applications
Artificial Marbles
. Beads specifically IH830B and EH910B and MMA are applied to artificial marbles.

PVC Coatings
. PMMA is easy to process. It is applied to PVC coatings and solidifying agents, while urethane resin is good to the touch but hard to process.

Shrink Proofing Agent

. PMMA beads prevent UPR ( FRP) from shrinkage by heat. PMMA is high glossy.

Others
. Paints, Inks, Sheet Costings and so on

BEAD Analysis Standards

Analysis Standards

VN (Viscosity Number)
- Melt PMMA in chloroform solvent and measure relative viscosity of the solution. - Beads with higher VN have larger molecular weight. For instance, a bead with VN of 52-74 has 80-120 thousand molecular weight. Moisture Contents - Measuring Device : karl-Fischer Tg (Glass Transition Temperature) - Measuring Device : DSC - Tg represents the elasticity of a polymer and it is equal to its softening temperature. Acidity value - Melt PMMA in acetone and titrate it with KOH solution. ( Unit : mgKOH/g ) MFI (Melt Flow Index) - MFI represents the fluidity of polymer. To get MFI, melt PMMA at 230 , and give a force of 3.8kg on the molten PMMA for ten minutes. - Bead with higher MFI has better fluidity.

Characteristics of PMMA

LIGHT TRANSMISSION

LIGHT TRANSMISSIN OF PMMA : 93% for colorless and transparent PMMA

(It transmits 93% of visible ray and reflects the rest of it. Thus it hardly absorb visible ray.)

100 Ultra violet 80 Visible ray Infrared ray

Transmission %

60 40 20 0 200 240 300 400 500 1000 1500 2000 2800

Wave length (nm)

Ultra Violet Absorption the difference of wavelength, Light is classified into; By

Ultra-Violet : below 380 nm Visible ray : 380 ~ 780nm, Infrared ray : 780 nm and over Therefore, LG PMMA contains some UV absorbent, if necessary.

LG PMMA UV Absorption Types 100% at 280nm (UVA-280) 100% at 360nm (UVA-360) 100% at 390nm (UVA-390) Applications
IF850 and IF870 for internal application IH830 and IG840 for external application IH830U for sunglasses

Weatherability MMA has outstanding weatherability among the plastic resins. P

In spite of long exposure to UV, rain or wind , it keeps the initial physical properties.
(Typical application: Taillights of automotive vehicles)

AMECA Test period (3yrs) : `89.4 ~ 92.4 Test places : Florida (hot and humid), Arizona (hot and dry) Grade/ Color - Grade : 4 types (IH830 etc.) - Color : 19 types (Clear 2, Amber 7 and Red 10)

Weatherability
Haze(%) 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 500 1000 1500 Time of Exposure(hr) Acrylic Rubber PMMA 2000 PC

PMMA has outstanding weatherability among the plastic resins Haze test results after two thousand hours xposure show that the haze for PMMA e

makes an steady and slight increase, while that for PC increases sharply on and after fifteen hundreds hours.

Weatherability
Y.I 6.0 5.0 4.0 Acrylic Rubber 3.0 2.0 1.0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 PMMA PC

Time of Exposure(hr)

PMMA having low initial yellow index has excellent transparency. It hardly change despite of long-time exposure over 2000 hours, while PC makes sharp change in the beginning and shows relatively slight change afterwards.

Other Characteristics of PMMA Colorability

-Transparent/semi-transparent/opaque
- It doesn discolor by heat during molding nor produce any substance to affect t dyestuffs and pigments.

Ease to Process - Such machine works as cutting, sewing, carving and grinding are easy to be done.
-Good to the adhesives, paints and dyestuffs.

Lightweight -Specific Gravity

1.19 (1/2 of glass)

- Its strength is comparable to inorganic glass

Innoxious - It doesn contain materials harmful to the body. t

- No relation to any of environmental hormone - food containers, artificial teeth, dental filling materials, artificial eyes and artificial bones
-Environmental Hormone: chemical substances exposed to the polluted environment come into the body and act like hormones. They are called environmental hormone or endocrine disrupter scientifically. -Influences to the body; sperm count decrease, deformation of sexual organs and hormone-related cancer increase.

PMMA and moisture

The Influence of Moisture Content oisture absorption of various resins M

: ASTM D570 (measure the weight of resin after steeping it in 23 water for 24 hours )
Moisture content over 5% Moisture content 1~5%

Polyvinylalcohol, Cellophane Celluros Resin, Poly Vinyl Acetic Acid, Poly Vinyl Formalin, Nylon PVC, Styrene Copolymer, PMMA, PC, PET, Phenolic Resin, Urea Resin, Melanin, PA PE, PP, PolyChloroethylene, PS...

Moisture content 0.1~1%

Moisture content under0.1%

* The molecular structure of resin with moisture content of 0.1 ~ 1% includes ester combination like PC,PET and PMMA, and ether combination like polyacetal, urea resin and phenol resin. * Thus PMMA absorbs moisture easily because its molecular structure has ester combination and it is amorphous resin.

Moisture Absorption moisture absorption changes according to PMMA

surrounding temperature and humidity.
Moisture Absorption with preservation temperature
Moisture Absorption (%)

0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 40 80 120 160 200 240

Preservation period(Days)

30,80%RH

23,80%RH

Moisture Absorption PMMA absorbance characteristic curve (left alone) :

change with surrounding temperature (80% RH is fixed)
Moisture Absorption (%)

1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Days

60 40 20

Moisture Absorption PMMA Moisture Absorption

characteristic curve(left alone) : change according to
humidity
Moisture Absorption (%)

1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2

0

(20 is fixed)
92% RH

60% RH 40% RH

10

15

20

25

30
Days

35

Control of Moisture Content During the Molding Safe and precise molding requires moisture content
control. Moisture absorption and the quality of molding product
Silver streaks and blowholes may appear. Lower melt viscosity may cause; -over filling, defective molding release and defective size -deterioration of mechanical physical property Environmental causes Humidity difference between rainy season and winter time Temperature difference between summer time and winter time Humidity difference by weather Temperature difference between the day and night time Requiring time to final use after initial exposure

Necessity of Dehumidifying Dryer Reasons to bring blowholes and silver streaks occupying most
of defects in PMMA in summer time are as follows; . 80% of defective products is caused by moisture content . Thermal degradation of resin due to poor heat stability and activation is one of the minor causes. Limit Moisture Absorption is 0.08~0.05% for general molding but it is estimated to be under 0.03~0.01% for a safe and precise m olding of specific product. ex) Especially, to control moisture content is important to the long-sized product as SANTAMO garnish panel. s

Moisture Absorption summer time, as hot-air dryer using hot and humid air removes In
moisture of the pellet surface only, dehumidifying dryer using air below -40 is required to the safe and precise molding. ex) In case of PC While drying with hot-air dryer for 4 hours reduces the moisture content from 0.18% to 0.018%, drying with dehumidifying dryer reduces it from 0.18% to 0.006%. Note Recently, Japan attaches importance to control moisture content of hydrolytic resins as well as resins with high moisture absorption like PMMA.

Pre-drying General Conditions for PMMA Pre-drying

Grades IH830, IH830S, IH830C IH830HR, IH830G, EH910 IH830A , IH830P, IG840 EG920, EG930, IF850 IF870 Temperature() 80 ~ 90 70 ~ 80 60 ~ 70 50 ~ 60 4~6 Hrs

Comparison with Other Resins

Light Transmission of Various Materials (ASTM D1003) Light Transmission of Various Materials (ASTM D1003)

93% 89% 87% 87% 84% 89% 90%

PMMA

PS

SAN

PC

Rigid PVC

Transparent GLASS ABS

PMMA has the highest light transmission among the plastics, especially its light transmission is superior to glass. Light transmission of PMMA is 93% between 380 nm ~ 780 nm but that of PC is only 87% between 480 nm ~ 680 nm.

Other physical properties

Coefficient of Linear Thermal Expansion (ASTM D1003) Rockwell Hardness (ASTM D785)

PMMA PS PC PE Nylon6 Glass 0.84

7~8 6~8 7 11 ~13 8~13

PMMA

85 ~ 105

PS

65~80

AS

80~90

PC 10 /

75~85 M Scale

Other Physical Properties

Heat Deflection Temp. (ASTM D648) Flexural Strength (ASTM D790)

PMMA PS AS PC PVC

74~105 65~104 88~104 130~141 60~77

PMMA

910~1330

PS

560~980

AS

980~1330

PC

950 /

Other Physical Properties

Transparency
5

Workability

4 3 2 1

Heat resistance
PMMA PMMA PC PC PVC PVC PS PS SAN SAN

Weatherability

Rigidity

Chemical Resistance Scratch Resistance

High impact

INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATIONS FOR PMMA

Int Certifications for LG PMMA l

Int l Standard UL (94HB) CSA (0.6HB) JHPC AMECA GRADE ALL GRADE ALL GRADE ALL GRADE IH830, IG840, EH910, EG930 Remarks US Flame Retardant Standard
Canada Flame Retardant Standard
JHPC Directive of Japan Ministry of Health (Equivalent to FDA)

AMECA Standard

UL : Underwriters Laboratories
CSA : Canada Standard Association JHPC : Japan High Polymer Center AMECA : Automotive Manufactureres Equipment Compliance Agency