You may wonder why I would ever get excited about a thermoplastic polymer popularized in the 1950's.Sometimes I wonder the same thing. The truth is though, once you know more about polypropylene, you will not only be able to spell it without a Google search, you will have a better appreciation for everyday things around us, including rooftop containment systems. It also needs to be realized that many rooftop containment systems in existence currently believe the only thing they need is polypropylene in their systems, and I will prove that just polypropylene or NO polypropylene is a bad idea. Also, there is a whole industry based on sorbents. I will only be discussing the capabilities of polypropylene as it pertains to rooftop containment in this post.
CLICK HERE FOR ONE POLYPROPYLENE MSDS (Material Safety and Data Sheet)
This is going to get very technical very fast, but I will make my best efforts to keep it easy to understand, fun, and, if possible, humorous (I will bring my best thermoplastic polymer jokes). If you want a head start, read this from the Encyclopedia Britannica Online: CLICK HERE.
First, you need some definitions and explanations of polypropylene. Well, you may not NEED it, but it will help appreciate it. I would encourage you to explore on your own as well. : CLICK HERE FOR WIKI.
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| Propene Molecule |
For that, you first need to know about propene, more popularly known as propylene or CAS No. 115-07-1 if you work at Dow Chemical. Yes it is related somewhat to propane for you Hank Hill fans. For those of you Organic Chemistry fans, propene is an unsaturated, organic, double bond, alkene, hydrocarbon. It is one of the most abundant in the natural world. Simply put, it is a plentifully naturally occurring compound made up of carbon and hydrogen that is mostly mined into gas state. It is colorless, smells unpleasant, and is flammable. It is produced from the same animal remains and waste that make fossil fuels. Propylene is the second most important catalyst in the petrochemical industry (next to ethylene) meaning it is used A LOT. Like, 154 billion pounds globally just in 2002. Propene is used in making films, packaging, caps, enclosures, and more as you will soon read. You can also check out this link to Google Images to see the variety of pictures of propylene objects:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=polypropylene&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1440&bih=764&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=3RQIULHNOsa5rQHujv3eBA#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=propene+products&oq=propene+products&gs_l=img.3...0.0.0.8793.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1c.nT_pp21H6Sg&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=3263aedd0f623abf&biw=1440&bih=764
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| Polypropylene Molecule |
So now the "other part of the word". The "poly" prefix comes from the art of polymerization. This means that the propylene is chemically joined together to form chains. These chains are then joined to make a polymer or "plastic-like" material that can be used to make a variety of different objects.
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| Polypropylene Pellets |
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| Polyolefin Film |
As it was developed in the later part of the 1950's, is it any wonder that everything was made of plastic in the 60's? Quite amazing how much it has effected our everyday lives if you think about it really.
With that, we move on to make some connections. How does any of this apply to rooftop containment? Let's talk medical first. Then the answers will come.
PP (polypropylene), because of its chemical resistance, radiation resistance, and flexibility, it is amazingly well suited for use in hospitals. Everything from hospital beds, face masks, sutures, and even implants may use PP to help prevent infection as well as reduce weight, amongst other things. This is because PP is the lightest of all natural fiber. It also is completely water resistant. It is these features that sparked interest in PP for grease absorption in other industries.Check here for more medical information on PP:
http://www.touchbriefings.com/pdf/753/mdev02_r_25.pdf
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| All Can Include Polypropylene... |
In many rooftop containment applications, a threaded fiber version of polypropylene, much like the medical version, is used to absorb F.O.G.s of all sorts while allowing the safe passage of water. This is because PP, because it is oil based, is hydrophobic. It does much the same with the whole range of chemicals including butyl acetate, toulene, sulfuric acid, and a long list of others. PP's ability to absorb these chemicals is partly due to the fact it is oil based in nature. That along with the fact it is made into a resin fiber via polymerization only increases its absorption capabilities.This makes it a great filter as these chemicals will go in, but will not be washed out from the rain. Thus rooftop containment was born. I will address more on this in a future post.
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| Polypropylene Fiber |
There are many downsides to using PP in rooftop applications though. This is where other rooftop containment companies need to focus on their design. For one, it is not very UV resistant by itself. Long amounts of sun exposure will erode the chain and degrade the filter. It is also not fire resistant past about 171 degrees Celsius. 90% of all restaurant fires are caused via the exhaust system and reach temperatures of about 1000 degrees Celsius . PP is also susceptible to just about every cleaning chemical around. Anything that can wash or remove grease will nullify the PP's water resistant capabilities. So Just having PP around your exhaust fan will not help. You need something more.
JOIN THE NFPA TODAY AND STAY FIRE SAFE!
SIDE NOTE: In roofing systems that use PP in thermoplastic roofing membranes, it is often coated, mixed, or chemically altered to be more resistant to UV and fire. This version of PP is much more like rubber that can expand and contract with heat giving the roof great durability. Click here for more information.
Despite these downfalls, many companies have found ways to use PP as the main component of their rooftop containment system, including us here at Rooftop Solutions. Some companies just place PP fiber inside a box, others find different ways to incorporate it. Whatever the application, you can pretty much say that if it doesn't have PP in it, it is not very effective as rooftop containment. Even the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has listed synthetic sorbents with absorption capabilities up to 70 times their weight in oil. Synthetics are one of the most cost effective absorbents on the market today!
Our Grease Guard product is actually made up of several layers of modified PP fiber with an F.O.G. absorption capability of about 39 ounces per square foot (that number is doubled for our industrial application). Along with a Fire Shield, and other protective layers, we have found a patented way to overcome the downfalls of PP and bring a product that holds F.O.G.s and chemicals without having to worry about UV damage, fire, "the elements", destroyed rubber roofs, and many other liabilities. You must have these additional layers of protection to make sure the PP is in someway made fire retardant, UV resistant, and carefully handled by anyone on the roof with chemicals, mostly the kitchen exhaust cleaner. The problem is, most customers are not educated on cons of the products they are purchasing. Either that, or it just isn't in the budget. I hope this post will help.
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| The G2 Grease Guard Filter System |
Many other applications have been devised and invented using PP. I encourage you to look into it! You will be surprised. Even better, have your child do an experiment on PP for their next science fair project!
http://www.weirdsciencekids.com/Oilspillexperiment.html
If you would like to read more about PP and it's applications I encourage you to check out the following links:
http://books.google.com/books?id=AWaSJd9Non8C&pg=PA14&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://www.dow.com/productsafety/finder/pro.htm
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/upload/2002_10_15_mtb_sorbmat.pdf
http://www.lenntech.com/polypropylene.htm
http://www.ides.com/info/generics/39/Polypropylene-PP
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469069/polypropylene
http://www.nicnas.gov.au/publications/car/new/plc/plc0200fr/plc210fr.pdf
Watch videos on YouTube from here:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=polypropylene&oq=polyprop&gs_l=youtube.1.0.0l10.215.1592.0.4297.8.7.0.1.1.0.133.550.6j1.7.0...0.0...1ac.siMNJsgWazM
I hope you enjoyed reading about polypropylene and can now realize at least one of the benefits of this amazing compound. I hope you can also see why I like it so much. Without it, I wouldn't have a job! More so than that, imagine the waste that could be making its way off of rooftops and into our water supply. Couple this will all the benefits of keeping grease off of your roof and you have quite the product.
Thanks for reading. As always if you have any ideas, want to add or edit something, or just want to chime in, please let me know. Have a great week!
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