Chinese HDPE 5502: Blow-Molding Grade Sourcing Guide (2026)

Summary: HDPE 5502 is a single low-melt-flow blow-molding grade — not a family of sub-grades to decode. Indicative properties: MFI ~0.25-0.35 g/10min, density ~0.954-0.955 g/cm³. It is made by Sinopec (for example at Maoming) and other Chinese producers under the same designation, and it is a mainstream choice for household and industrial container blow molding. The real sourcing work is not memorizing plant suffixes — it is verifying MFI, density, and ESCR against the COA for each lot and qualifying across multiple producers so you are not single-sourced.

HDPE 5502 is one grade: a low-melt-flow, high-density polyethylene made for extrusion blow molding. There is no "blow 5502" versus "injection 5502," and no plant-specific sub-grade taxonomy to memorize. A single designation, a single broad specification window, supplied by several producers.

The low melt flow is the point. Blow molding inflates a hanging tube of melt — the parison — inside a mold. If the melt flows too easily, the parison sags and the wall thickness drifts before the mold closes. A low-MFI grade like 5502 holds its shape long enough to blow a sound container. That same property makes it the wrong tool for injection molding or thin film, which need higher flow.

Indicative properties for HDPE 5502:

Treat these numbers as indicative, not as a guaranteed datasheet. They describe the window 5502 generally falls in; they are not transcribed from a single producer's certified document. Before you specify or process the material, confirm MFI, density, and ESCR against the producing plant's COA or TDS for your actual lot. The grade name tells you the family and the rough window — the COA tells you what is in the container.

It helps to place 5502 against the adjacent grades buyers most often confuse it with, because the differences are about melt flow and end use, not about a hidden naming code.

• HDPE 5502 (~0.25-0.35 MFI): blow molding. Low flow, good melt strength, household and industrial containers.
• HDPE 5000S (~0.8 MFI): a raffia / monofilament grade, used for woven sacks and tapes — not a blow-molding grade. It is sometimes mentioned alongside 5502 because of the similar numbering, but its higher melt flow and intended use are different. Do not substitute one for the other on the assumption that "5000-series" means interchangeable.
• Western injection grades (e.g. LyondellBasell Hostalen GC 7260, ~8 MFI): high-flow injection-molding material. A "7260" in a Western catalog is an injection grade, not a Chinese blow or film grade — do not assume the number maps across naming systems.

The lesson is the same in every direction: match grades on the properties that drive the process — MFI, density, ESCR — not on the digits in the name. Numbers in polymer grade codes are producer conventions, not a universal language.

For current FOB pricing on HDPE blow-molding grades, see today's pricing.

Who makes it

Sinopec produces HDPE 5502 at facilities including Maoming (茂名). Other Chinese producers — both naphtha-based refiners and coal-to-olefins (CTO/MTO) plants — offer comparable low-melt-flow blow-molding HDPE under the 5502 designation or close equivalents. Exact availability by plant moves with allocation, turnaround schedules, and feedstock economics, so a producer that is liquid in the export market one quarter may be tight the next.

We name Sinopec/Maoming because that is a producer-grade pairing we can state honestly. We deliberately avoid presenting a precise plant-by-plant matrix with fabricated suffixes and invented per-plant specs — that kind of false precision is exactly what gets a converter into trouble when the container arrives and the "decoder" turns out to be fiction. What is true and useful is simpler: 5502 is a real, mainstream Chinese blow grade available from more than one producer, and the way to buy it well is to qualify several sources and verify each lot.

Naphtha-based versus CTO/MTO material

Chinese HDPE comes from two feedstock routes, and the distinction is real even though it does not change the grade name:

• Naphtha-cracker-based material is the long-established route. Track record in export blow-molding supply is deepest here.
• CTO/MTO (coal-to-olefins) producers in Ningxia and Inner Mongolia also make blow-molding HDPE. When crude is high relative to coal, CTO material can be meaningfully cheaper. Trace-impurity and consistency profiles can differ from naphtha material, which matters most for food-contact and high-speed lines.

Neither route is "the right one" in the abstract. For a forgiving, non-food application where price leads, CTO-origin 5502 can be the better buy. For food-contact or a high-speed automated line where consistency leads, naphtha-based material with a clean COA history is usually worth the premium. The decision is application-specific — which is why qualifying across producers, rather than locking to one, is the resilient approach.

HDPE 5502 sits in a low-melt-flow window (~0.25-0.35 g/10min). Some common Korean and Middle East blow-molding grades run higher melt flow — in the ~0.6-0.7 range — which means they are not drop-in substitutes. A grade with roughly double the MFI behaves differently in the parison and on the line; matching on grade name alone invites a requalification surprise.

The reliable method is to match on the three properties that actually drive blow-molding performance:

1. MFI — the dominant variable for parison behavior and line speed. Match the window, not just the headline number.
2. Density — sets stiffness and barrier; 5502's ~0.954-0.955 is mainstream HDPE.
3. ESCR — decisive for what the container will hold. Aggressive contents (solvents, surfactants, certain agrochemicals) demand confirmed ESCR; do not assume it.

When a converter is switching from an incumbent Western or Korean grade to a Chinese 5502, the right move is to pull the COA of both materials, compare MFI / density / ESCR directly, and run a qualification trial before committing volume. Grade-name equivalence charts are a starting hypothesis, not a substitute for that comparison.

A grade designation narrows the field; it does not guarantee the lot. Two containers both honestly labeled 5502 can come from different reactors with different catalyst systems, and their molecular-weight distributions and ESCR can differ slightly even when MFI and density match on paper. On a forgiving line that difference is invisible. On a high-speed automated blow line it can show up as wall-thickness drift and a higher reject rate until the line is retuned.

That is not a reason to chase a mythical plant-suffix code. It is the reason to make COA verification standard practice:

When you receive from a new producer, or a first shipment from a new source, hold a short test-run buffer before committing the material to full production. This is cheap insurance against the drift that subtle MWD differences can cause.

A bare "HDPE 5502" tells the seller the family but leaves the rest open. A complete PO includes:

1. Grade — HDPE 5502 (extrusion blow-molding grade).
2. Target MFI with tolerance — e.g. "MFI ~0.25-0.35 g/10min," tightened to a narrower window if your line is MFI-sensitive.
3. Density — "~0.954-0.955 g/cm³."
4. ESCR requirement — appropriate to the contents; specify a minimum where the application is demanding.
5. Food-contact certification (if required) — plant- and lot-specific FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 reference and GB 4806 compliance, not a generic claim.
6. COA before shipment — compare MFI and density against your line's calibration before the container ships.
7. Substitution terms — state explicitly whether material from an alternate qualified producer is acceptable, or whether the order is restricted to a named source. Require a trial run on any new source.

The value in sourcing 5502 is not a proprietary decoder ring — it is supplier depth and verification discipline. Kantor maintains visibility across multiple Chinese HDPE producers, both naphtha-based and CTO/MTO, so a buyer is not single-sourced when one producer tightens allocation or moves on price. For each requirement we match on the properties that drive the application — MFI, density, ESCR — confirm food-contact documentation where it is needed, and supply the COA so your QC team verifies the lot against your line's calibration before it ships. That is what turns "HDPE 5502" on a PO into material that runs cleanly on your line.

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Related Reading

• HDPE 5000S: Sinopec, PetroChina, Hengli for Blow Molding
• HDPE 5000S vs. 5502 vs. 7260: Grade Selection Guide
• Chinese PP T30S: Sinopec, PetroChina, CTO for Woven Sack
• China Polymer Producers Guide

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What is HDPE 5502?

HDPE 5502 is a single low-melt-flow blow-molding grade, not a family of sub-grades. Indicative properties are MFI ~0.25-0.35 g/10min (190°C/2.16kg) and density ~0.954-0.955 g/cm³ — a low-flow profile suited to extrusion blow molding of household and industrial containers. It is produced by Sinopec (for example at Maoming) and by other Chinese producers under the same 5502 designation. Treat the numbers as indicative and confirm MFI and density against the producer's COA or TDS for your specific lot.

What is HDPE 5502 used for?

HDPE 5502 is an extrusion blow-molding grade for household and industrial containers: bottles for motor oil, household chemicals, and agrochemicals, small-to-medium jerry cans, and similar hollow parts. Its low melt flow gives good melt strength for the parison, which is what blow molding needs. It is not a raffia, injection, or film grade — those use different melt-flow profiles. For containers holding aggressive solvents, surfactants, or long-shelf-life agrochemicals, confirm the ESCR is adequate for the contents rather than assuming any single blow grade covers every case.

Which Chinese producers make HDPE 5502?

Sinopec produces HDPE 5502 at facilities including Maoming, and other Chinese producers offer comparable low-melt-flow blow-molding HDPE under the 5502 designation or close equivalents. Coal-to-olefins (CTO/MTO) producers in Ningxia and Inner Mongolia also make blow-molding HDPE that can be cost-competitive when crude is high. Rather than committing to one named plant from a catalog, the practical approach is to source the 5502 specification across multiple qualified producers and confirm each lot against its COA. Producer availability and pricing shift with allocation and feedstock economics.

Is there a difference between HDPE 5502 grades from different plants?

5502 is a single grade designation, not a blow-versus-injection split — there is no separate "injection 5502" and "blow 5502." That said, two lots labeled 5502 from different reactors can differ slightly in molecular-weight distribution and ESCR even when their headline MFI and density match, because catalyst systems and process conditions differ. The practical implication is not to memorize plant suffixes but to verify the COA per lot and run a short trial when switching to a new source, since subtle differences can affect a high-speed blow line.

Is HDPE 5502 food-contact compliant?

Many Chinese HDPE blow-molding grades, including 5502, can be supplied with food-contact documentation such as FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 references and GB 4806 compliance, but certification is lot- and plant-specific — do not assume it from the grade name alone. CTO-origin material can carry different trace-impurity profiles than naphtha-based material. For dairy bottles, edible-oil bottles, and direct food-contact applications, require the specific food-contact documentation for the producing plant and lot, and state that requirement explicitly on the purchase order.

How does HDPE 5502 compare to Korean or Middle East blow-molding grades?

HDPE 5502 sits in a low-melt-flow window (~0.25-0.35 g/10min). Some Korean and Middle East blow grades run higher melt flow (in the ~0.6-0.7 range), so they are not drop-in substitutes — a meaningfully different MFI changes parison behavior and line settings. The most reliable way to find an equivalent is to match on the properties that drive your process — MFI, density, and ESCR — rather than on grade name, and to confirm those values against the COA of the grade you are switching to or from. Run a qualification trial before committing volume.

What should I specify on a HDPE 5502 purchase order?

Specify the grade (HDPE 5502), a target MFI with tolerance (for example MFI ~0.25-0.35 g/10min, with a tighter window if your line is MFI-sensitive), target density (~0.954-0.955 g/cm³), and any ESCR requirement appropriate to the contents. Require a COA before shipment and compare its MFI and density against your line's calibration. If the application is food-contact, require plant- and lot-specific food-contact documentation. State explicitly whether substitution across producers is acceptable or whether the order is restricted to a named source, and require a trial run when receiving from a new producer.

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This analysis covers Chinese HDPE 5502 sourcing as of Q2 2026. Producer availability, pricing positions, and quality specifications change over time, and the property values here are indicative — always confirm against the producer's COA or TDS for your lot. For current pricing on HDPE 5502 and other blow-molding grades, tell us what you need — polymer type, application, volume, and destination — and our sourcing team will respond with matched producers and current FOB pricing.

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