Plastic bottles are so common in all walks of life that they are ubiquitous. Even in your house, you may see they are placed on your dresser, wash basin, etc. If you careful enough，you will notice that these cosmetic bottles are printed with PP,PET and PE. Those signs represent that your shower gel bottles, lotion bottles and sanitizer bottles are made from these materials. But what’s the difference among those materials？ What are their specific uses? If you want to know the answers, please go ahead and read this passage.

PP plastic bottle

What is the pp material?

The full name of PP material is Polypropylene, a polymer formed by the polypropylene reaction and a lighter type of a commonly used plastic. The chemical formula is (C3H6) n with a density of 0.89~0.91g/cm3, flammable with a melting point of 189℃ and softened around 155℃ using a temperature range of-30~140℃. Below 80℃ it can withstand acid, alkali, salt solution and various organic solvents, and can be decomposed under high temperature and oxidation.

What can it be applied to?

Polypropylene is widely used in clothing, blankets and other fiber products, medical devices, automobiles, bicycles, parts, delivery pipelines, chemical containers, and is also used for food and drug packaging.

The use of PP plastic bottles

In terms of food packaging, PP-material bottles can not be used in the blocking packaging of carbonated drinks. It‘s price is cheaper than those like PET, PS, PE，while it‘s more vulnerable to oxidative aging.

PET plastic bottle

What is PET material?

PET is called polyethylene glycol terephthalate,  a milky white or light yellow, highly crystalline polymer. Its chemical formula is (C10H8O4) n. PET has good optical performance , excellent optical properties and weather resistance, and good non-toxic stability but it can not resist heat water immersion and alkali.

What can it be applied to?

PET bottle packaging is suitable for food, drugs, cosmetics products packaging.

The use of PET plastic bottles

In terms of food packaging，PET material can be mostly used for plastic beverage bottles, medicine bottles, cosmetics bottles, oil bottles and various bottle caps. PET plastic bottles are very transparent, shiny and not easy to break.

PE plastic bottle

What is PE material?

The full name of PE material is Polyethylene, a thermoplastic resin made from ethylene by polymerization，which is also the most common plastic packaging using materials. PE material is non-smelly, non-toxic with wax texture and low temperature resistance. It boasts good chemical stability with resistance to the erosion of most acids and bases，except acids with oxidative properties. Moreover，PE material is unsoluble in general solvent and has excellent performance in electrical insulation.

What can it be applied to?

With good insulation performance, PE material has the advantage of being insoluble in water and not easy to damp , so it can not only be used for food and drug packaging but also in the construction industry.

The use of PE plastic bottles

The PE plastic bottle is soft, and feels waxy with lighter quality compared to the other plastic. It is mostly used for washing categories and chemical packaging, such as detergent bottles.