Reef Chemistry Question of the Day #231 Stability of Polyethylene

SDReefer · Oct 9, 2017

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 14, 2017

And the answer is...

Which of the following situations (long term) would be expected to be most damaging to a polyethylene container such as a Brute trash can?

D. Exposure to 2% ozone in air

At least, that's the answer I was looking for. Ozone will oxidize polyethylene, making it brittle and eventually it will fail.

Normal acids and bases of any strength do not have an impact on polyethylene, so A and B are wrong:

A. The super low pH of concentrated (37%) hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid; pH about -1)
B. The super high pH of 30% sodium hydroxide in water (pH about 15)

HDPE will absorb some hydrophobic organic molecules, as are present in diesel fuel. Especially aromatic compounds. It gets mixed ratings, some places say it is OK and some say only short term (less than 1 year) and some say not recommended. So C is also an acceptable answer.

C. The highly hydrophobic character of diesel oil

Happy reefing.

IonicBond · Oct 15, 2017

Thank you that was killing me lol

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 15, 2017

lol

Happy Reefing.

Reef Chemistry Question of the Day #231 Stability of Polyethylene

SDReefer

Active Member

Randy Holmes-Farley

Reef Chemist

IonicBond

Community Member

Randy Holmes-Farley

Reef Chemist

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