Resin selection is an extremely important element in determining the most efficient plastic random
packing for your application. Much of the focus in selecting a plastic random packing or scrubber
packing is given to the size and configuration of the packing. While the selection of the size and
configuration of random packing is critical to the performance of any column, the selection of the
proper resin must not be over looked. Selecting the proper resin can increase the life of your system,
increase the time between maintenance and servicing the system and prevent material failure, all of
which can be very costly in money and down time. While Kemflo can help guide you in the right
direction when it comes the resin selection of a plastic tower packing for your specific application it is
important for the customer to research various options in determining the best solution for them and
their application. The customer must consider the chemical environment and maximum operating
temperatures among other variables when selecting the best resin for their tower packing. It is very
important that the process data and operating conditions are considered in this process.

Kemflo offers Kempac plastic random packing in a variety of resins to meet the most demanding
environments. Kemflo’s Kempac plastic random packing line includes the Tri-Pack style, Pall Ring, and
saddle style packing. The Tri-Pack style is available in 1”, 2” and 3.5”. The Pall Ring is available in 1”, 2”
and 3.5”. The Saddle style packing is available in 1”, 2” and 3”. All styles of Tower packing are available
in a variety of resins including but not limited to Polypropylene, Polyethylene, PVC, CPVC, Kynar (PVDF),
Tefzel, Teflon, Halar and more. Kemflo also has the capabilities to add various additives to the resins
such as glass which increases the resins heat resistance or talc which makes the product sink. If you have
a specific resin you would like for us to manufacture your plastic random packing out of, please feel free
to contact us to discuss.

The resins that we utilize are thermoplastics. Thermoplastics are heated then cooled in a mold to form a
part. Once the parts are cooled, they revert to their original state and can be re-melted and cooled
again. For this reason, thermoplastics are easier to reuse and recycle. They comprise most of the
manufactured polymer resins on the market today and are used in the injection molding process.
Thermoplastics are categorized by family and type. They fall into three broad categories or groups;
commodity resins, engineering resins, and specialty or high-performance resins. The high-performance
resins also come with a higher cost. That is why commodity resins are often used for many everyday
applications. Commodity resins are easy to process and are inexpensive. They are often found in typical
mass produced items like packaging. Engineering resins are more expensive but offer better strength
and resistance to chemicals and environmental exposure.

Within each of these families, some resins have different morphology. Morphology describes the
arrangement of molecules in a resin and fall into two categories, amorphous and semi-crystalline.
Amorphous resins have the following characteristics: they shrink less when cooled, offer better
transparency, work well for tight-tolerance applications, tend to be brittle and lack chemical
resistance. Semi-crystalline resins have the following characteristics: tend to be opaque, offer excellent
abrasion and chemical resistance, are less brittle and have higher shrinkage rates.
Some of the more common resins that plastic random packing is available in include:

Polypropylene Resin which is relatively inexpensive, flexible, tough, chemical resistant and fatigue
resistant. This is the most common resin from plastic random packing. Much of the inventory that we
keep for the Tri-Pack, Pall Ring and plastic Saddle are in polypropylene. Kemflo uses NSF polypropylene
resin to ensure a high quality product. Polypropylene packing is typically good for temperatures below
180 degrees F.

Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (CPVC) Resin is another very versatile resin with a temperature rating of
up to 200 degrees F. Many plastic random packing manufactures do not offer this resin because it is a
very thick resin making it very difficult to manufacture in. KemFlo has no problem utilizing CPVC to
manufacture their plastic random packing.

Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) is a high-end resin with very good chemical resistance and a
temperature rating of up to 280 degrees F. This resin is commonly used in chemical scrubbers. Kemflo
keeps this resin in stock and can produce PVDF product quickly and economically.

For more information on Kemflo’s Tri-Pack, Pall Ring or Saddle style packings and the available resins for
these products, please feel free to visit our website at www.kempac-packing.com.