Reliance Industries Ltd.

Plastics have been used in medicine for the past over 40 years. Due to increasing awareness on Health & Hygiene, spread of drug resistant contagious diseases , Governments resolve to provide basic Healthcare in rural areas, increased life expectancy leading to growing aged population (who will require special attention) and emergence of India as a major destination on the Medical tourism map, the need for plastics medical products is only going to increase. Commodity plastics such as PVC, PE, PP , PS account for 80-85% of all medical plastics.

PVC/PE in Medical Applications (Reliance Industries Ltd.)

PVC accounts for over one-third of the commodity plastics that are used in Medical Products. No other plastic in existence today has the combination of performance qualities that PVC has. PVC is one of the most researched polymer having passed many critical tests and has gained acceptance by health regulators worldwide.

PVC and PE is used for various applications such as packaging, disposables, medical equipments as well as implants. In spite of environmental pressures, PVC has shown the largest AAGR of 5% reaching almost one billion pounds globally by 2006 with pharma packaging accounting for major share and growth (growing 4% annually). Changing lifestyles, higher disposable income and need for convenient packaging is changing the way medicines are packed.

The versatility of PVC in medical applications reflects its blending compatibility and various processing options. Performance benefits of finished PVC components involve bonding , sterilization and printing capabilities as well as variable intrinsic properties. Finally what favours PVC is its cost to performance ratio , which is one of the best for medical applications.

Even though PE is not as widely used as PVC it provides a good mix of flexibility, strength, barrier and low cost properties that vary in magnitude and intensity among the various grades. Conventional LDPE offers the benefits of chemical inertness, high impact strength, excellent sealability and tear and stress crack resistance. Hence PE is used for medicine storage, disposables and some new applications such as joint replacements.
 

Ravi Jalali
G.M. - Business Development
Reliance Industries Ltd.

About Speaker

Sh. Ravi Jalali is a Chemical Engineer (from the highly reputed University Dept. of Chemical Technology, Mumbai) and M.B.A. – Mktg. (from M.S. University, Vadodara) by educational background. Sh. Jalali has a rich and varied experience of over 21 years in the industrial sphere (Chemical & Process Industry, Engineering & Commodity Plastics) out of which the last 17 years have been with Reliance Industries Ltd(Polymers) in various capacities. At present he is functioning as GM-Business Development (Polymers) at H.O., Mumbai. Sh. Ravi Jalali has been actively promoting the positive attributes of Plastics in the application spectrum of Healthcare , Packaging , Building & Construction, etc. He has a number of published articles to his credit in the leading sectoral magazines in India and has also attended and presented papers in various national seminars/conferences on these topics.

PP in Non-Woven Disposables and Rigid Medical Packaging Applications

(Reliance Industries Ltd.)

Polypropylene (or PP) is the fastest growing Polymer in the world. Global consumption of PP is estimated to be more than 43 MMT in 2007, with Asia’s share being 39%.

PP has unique set of properties which make it the preferred material for Medical Applications. Some of these are optimum balance of Strength & Weight, Transparency, safe & easy handling , safe Food contact, Sterilizability , and inertness to most of the chemicals. Additionally design freedom coupled with easy processability has helped develop medical products such as Disposable Syringes or Non-Wovens for one time use.

Non-Wovens account for 10% of global PP consumption. In India , large capacity of PP Non-Woven manufacture has come up in the last 3 years and currently more than 40 lines producing 35000MT of PP Non-Wovens are in operation.

An attempt is made in the two presentations to highlight the extensive range and functional benefits of products made from PE/PVC for Healthcare. We have also tried to present the new developments for Medical applications like some of the new innovative packagings made possible through PP. This paper also highlights the usage of PP non-woven medical disposables with an attempt to establish their cost-effectiveness apart from their functional benefits. Towards the end , mechanism for disposal is discussed in brief.
 

Prashant Parkhe
Senior Manager
Polypropylene Business Development
(Textiles Sector)
Reliance Industries Ltd.

About Speaker

Prashant Parkhe is a BE ,Polymer by qualification from MIT Pune & has Ranked 4th in University of Pune. Presently working as Senior Manager in Polypropylene Business Development Group of Reliance Industries Limited, Textiles Sector.

Working in F&F industry for over 14 years, experience includes manufacturing Ropes, Geo-synthetics, Fibers, Non Wovens. Have published articles on non wovens in leading non woven magazines in India promoting the usage of Non wovens in various fields such as Medical, Industrial, packaging, household, etc. His strong vision is to make PP non woven medical disposables familiar to each doctor and nurse in India.