Testing of Petro Chemistry with ZwickRoell

Unipetrol RPA (a member of the Unipetrol Group) is a leading Czech producer in the field of refinery, petrochemical and agrochemical raw materials, which is also reflected in the initial abbreviation "RPA": refinery, petro chemistry, and agro chemistry. The company supplies the market primarily with motor fuels, fuel oils, asphalts, liquefied petroleum products, oil hydrogenates, other refinery products, olefins and aromates, agrochemicals, carbon black, sorbents and polyolefins (high-density polyethylene, polypropylene).

Unipetrol is investing heavily in the modernization of petrochemical production lines. Due to the increase in production and customers becoming more demanding about quality control, the laboratory faces new challenges in the form of strict time schedules and more complex work for all lab operators. As a result, Unipetrol has invested significantly in testing machines in recent years to meet these requirements. For testing of the mechanical properties of thermoplastics for customers in the petrochemical industry, the company has acquired various testing machines from ZwickRoell for quality control of synthetic polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

Three zwickiLine universal testing machines are used to perform tensile tests on foils. According to ISO 527, foils are tested without having to meet the strict requirements of Annex C; however, the zwickiLine enables accurate travel measurement up to 800 mm. Tests on standard plastic specimens according to Charpy ISO 179 and Izod ISO 180 are implemented using the HIT5.5P pendulum impact tester. Last, the HDT/Vicat Allround checks the determination of heat deflection temperature according to ISO 306 and ISO 75 within an oil medium. All the information obtained from these tests can be used to easily draw conclusions about the quality of the synthetized PE and PP materials.

For the selection of the right testing machines, Unipetrol was interested in nothing less than the best technology available when it came to testing machine equipment that required a higher level of automation comparison to previous equipment. They also required a partner that could provide a high availability of spare parts and guarantee of reliable service for the future. Since the beginning of the cooperation with ZwickRoell, Unipetrol has been very satisfied with all of the testing machines and their reliable test results.