What is the density of LDPE?

Between 0.910 and 0.925 grams per cubic centimetre. For any practical calculation, use 0.92. That single number is how you convert film area and micron into kilograms, which is how LDPE is priced, so it is the most commercially useful property on the list.

What is the melting point of LDPE?

Around 105 to 115 degrees Celsius, with softening starting from about 100. The low melting point is a feature, because it means seals form easily at low energy. It is also the hard limit: LDPE cannot be hot filled above roughly 80 degrees, boiled or microwaved.

Is LDPE resistant to chemicals?

To most of them, yes. It handles water, acids, alkalis, salts, alcohols and detergents well, which is why it lines chemical drums. Oils and greases permeate slowly, so it is fine short term and not for long storage. Hydrocarbon solvents like petrol and toluene swell it, and strong oxidisers attack it. Tell us what you are packing and we will confirm.

Is LDPE UV resistant?

Not on its own. Direct sunlight breaks the polymer chains and the film goes chalky then brittle, typically within four to six months in Indian conditions. UV stabiliser masterbatch fixes it, and it is sold by life rating: 12, 24 or 36 months. Any outdoor product should have that rating written on the quote.

Tensile strength of roughly 8 to 20 MPa, which is modest, alongside elongation at break of 100 to 650 percent, which is very high. In plain terms it is not stiff but it is hard to break because it stretches. For packaging, that forgiveness usually matters more than peak strength, and where it does not, an LLDPE blend fixes it.

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LDPE properties, and what each number means for you

Data sheets list properties without telling you which ones matter. This page gives the numbers and then says, for each one, what it changes about how you buy and use the material.

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Physical and thermal properties

Property	Typical value	What it means in practice
Density	0.910 to 0.925 g/cm³	Use 0.92 in weight calculations. This is how you convert area and micron into kilos, and therefore into money.
Melting point	105 to 115 °C	Seals form easily and cheaply. Also the hard ceiling: no hot fill, no boiling, no microwave.
Softening point	From about 100 °C	Bags start to lose shape before they melt. Warm-fill above 80 °C needs a conversation.
Low-temperature flexibility	To about minus 40 °C	Stays flexible in a freezer instead of going brittle. This is why frozen food uses LDPE.
Water absorption	Under 0.01 percent	Effectively zero. Excellent moisture barrier, which is why it protects cement, powders and food.
Water vapour transmission	Low	Good moisture barrier, which is what makes curing sheet and DPC work.
Oxygen barrier	Poor	Do not expect LDPE alone to extend shelf life on oxygen-sensitive food. That needs a laminate.

Mechanical and electrical properties

Property	Typical value	What it means in practice
Tensile strength	8 to 20 MPa	Lower than HDPE. LDPE compensates by stretching rather than snapping.
Elongation at break	100 to 650 percent	It deforms a long way before failing. In packaging, that forgiveness is worth more than raw strength.
Tear resistance	Moderate; improved by LLDPE blending	The property most often fixed by a blend rather than by more micron.
Puncture resistance	Moderate to good	Sharp corners are the usual enemy. Blend or gauge up, or fix the packing method.
Shore D hardness	Approximately 45 to 55	Soft. It will scuff, and it will not scratch what it wraps.
Dielectric strength	High, low dielectric constant	Why LDPE is used as wire and cable insulation.
Coefficient of friction	Tunable with slip additives	Matters on automated lines: too grippy and bags do not separate, too slippery and stacks slide.

Chemical resistance: the useful summary

LDPE is chemically inert to most of what industry moves around, which is why it lines drums for a living.

Resists well: water, acids and alkalis at most concentrations, salts, alcohols, most aqueous solutions, and detergents. This covers the overwhelming majority of liner applications.
Handle with care: oils, fats and greases can slowly permeate. Fine for short-term packing, a problem for long-term storage of oily products.
Avoid: strong oxidising agents, and hydrocarbon solvents like petrol, toluene and benzene, which swell and soften LDPE. Also strong halogens.

If you are packing anything aggressive, tell us what it is before you order. The right answer is sometimes a different polymer, and it is much cheaper to hear that now than after a drum liner fails in a warehouse.

The property with no natural fix: UV

Unprotected LDPE degrades in sunlight. The polymer chains break, the film goes chalky then brittle, and the failure is irreversible. In India, expect visible degradation in four to six months of direct exposure. The fix is a UV stabiliser masterbatch, specified in months of life: 12, 24 or 36. For any product living outdoors, that additive is not optional and it should be on the quote.

Keep reading

What is LDPE?

Where these properties come from: structure and manufacture.

LDPE vs LLDPE

How blending changes the mechanical numbers above.

Micron guide

Turning these properties into a thickness you can order.

Property questions

Need a spec rather than a data sheet?

Tell us the product, the load and the environment. We will convert that into micron, blend and additive package, and then quote it.