Geomembranes

Growing concerns over waste have helped open a new market for cast- and blown-film processors in many countries.

In order to prevent pollution of ground water supplies, for example, many landfill areas now rely on protection by geomembranes. These thick, flexible, high-quality films need to provide puncture protection, withstand pressure, and exhibit high chemical and UV resistance.

Borealis has developed a range of Borstar® LLDPE grades for use in producing geomembrane applications through blown or calendar stack film extrusion. Geomembranes are typically produced from PVC or HDPE, but very-low-density PE and polypropylene are also being processed for this purpose. A typical geomembrane is 1.5-3 mm. thick and extruded in widths of from 4-8 metres.  

Our Borstar LLDPE material grades deliver a range of benefits including:

• easy processing,
• high output rates,
• mechanical properties,
• excellent gauge variation,
• smooth surface,
• down-gauging potential for thinner liners,
• excellent distribution of carbon black,
• consistent quality,
• flexible liners, no need for blending plus higher quality,
• broad sealing window,
• no wrinkles or “banana curves” after unwinding,
• high mechanical strength,
• low failure rate.

The main geomembrane applications are:

• landfill liners,
• capping liners,
• mining liners,
• building & construction liners,
• pond/aquaculture liners,
• canal liners.