UHMW Grades — Virgin, Tivar 1000, HPV & Cleanstat

UHMW polyethylene is sold under several grade designations that vary in molecular weight, additive packages, and regulatory compliance status. Selecting the wrong grade means either overpaying for performance you do not need or under-specifying a material that fails prematurely. This guide compares every major commercial grade — from commodity reprocessed to premium Tivar specialty compounds — with clear selection guidance for each.

At a glance:

• Virgin UHMW: FDA-compliant, consistent quality, most common grade for food and general industrial
• Reprocessed (repro) UHMW: lower cost, no FDA certification, for non-food industrial wear applications
• Tivar 1000: premium DSM grade, highest molecular weight, best abrasion and cold-temperature performance
• Tivar HPV: internally lubricated, lowest available COF for gravity chutes
• Tivar Cleanstat: anti-static, FDA-compliant, pharmaceutical and powder handling
• Tivar 88: blue, FDA-compliant, color-coded food zones
• Tivar Burnguard: flame-retardant, mining and tunnel conveyors

Grade Comparison Overview

Virgin UHMW

Virgin UHMW is polymerized from prime resin with no recycled content. Molecular weight typically falls in the 4.5–6.5 million g/mol range, which delivers the standard property profile: tensile strength ~5,800 psi, notched Izod no-break, COF 0.10–0.20, abrasion resistance approximately 6× nylon.

FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 compliance is the defining advantage of virgin over reprocessed. Natural (white) virgin UHMW is the broadest compliance platform — it covers FDA, USDA, and 3-A Dairy standard in a single material. Colored virgin grades (black, blue, green, red) carry FDA certification provided the pigment package uses FDA-listed colorants. Always request a certificate of compliance (CoC) for food-contact applications; do not rely on verbal assurances.

When to specify: Any food-contact, pharmaceutical, or other regulated application. Also specify virgin when working to a customer quality standard that requires certified material test reports (MTRs).

Reprocessed (Repro) UHMW

Reprocessed UHMW is manufactured from clean industrial regrind of virgin UHMW — typically machining offcuts and trim from virgin UHMW sheet production. The reprocessing step reduces average molecular weight to the 3.5–4.5 million g/mol range, which produces measurably lower (but still excellent) abrasion resistance compared to virgin. Impact toughness is also somewhat reduced, though Izod specimens still typically do not break.

The trade-off is price: reprocessed UHMW is typically 15–25% less expensive than equivalent virgin. For non-food industrial applications — mining chute liners, aggregate equipment wear surfaces, general conveyor components not in direct product contact — repro is a rational choice.

When to specify: High-volume liner or wear applications where regulatory compliance is not required and cost per square foot matters more than maximum service life.

Tivar 1000

Tivar 1000 is DSM Engineering Materials' flagship UHMW compound, engineered to the upper boundary of commercially available molecular weight (consistently ≥6 million g/mol, often higher). The increased chain length translates directly to superior abrasion resistance — Taber wear test data from DSM shows Tivar 1000 outperforming commodity virgin UHMW by 30–50% in the ASTM D4060 protocol — and improved low-temperature impact retention.

Tivar 1000 is the standard material specified by NHL arena operators, regional hockey facility management companies, and ice rink construction contractors for dasher board facings and kick plates. It is also the grade of choice for:

• Primary and secondary crusher transfer chutes in hard-rock mining
• Ship holds and bulk material loader spout liners
• Grain elevator boot liners and spout liners handling abrasive grain
• High-tonnage conveyor discharge chutes

Tivar 1000 is FDA-compliant in natural and certain colored grades. It is available in natural, black, blue, green, and red.

When to specify: When standard virgin UHMW liner life is insufficient, when operating below −20°F, or when the application justifies a premium for documented performance superiority.

Tivar HPV (High-Performance Variant)

Tivar HPV incorporates an internal lubricant — a food-safe additive package distributed through the bulk of the material rather than applied as a surface coating. This drops the dynamic COF to approximately 0.05–0.08 versus 0.10–0.20 for standard UHMW, which is meaningful in gravity-flow chute applications where even a modest reduction in friction allows reliable flow of sticky or moist products.

Typical applications include:

• Gravity-flow chutes for wet pet food ingredients, wet grain, moist fertilizer
• Slide-gate surfaces in grain handling
• Accumulation and runout tables in food packaging where product slides under gravity

Tivar HPV is FDA-compliant and available in natural and selected colors. The lubricant is permanent — it does not wash out or migrate out under normal operating conditions.

Tivar Cleanstat

Tivar Cleanstat is a carbon-black and conductive-additive UHMW compound formulated to achieve surface resistivity in the 10⁶–10⁹ ohm/square range. This dissipates static charge accumulated when fine powders, granules, or pellets slide across the UHMW surface, eliminating the electrostatic adhesion that causes product bridging in filling lines and the spark risk in environments with explosive dust concentrations.

Cleanstat is FDA-compliant and ATEX-considered for electrostatic discharge risk environments. It is typically gray or black. Key applications:

• Pharmaceutical tablet, capsule, and powder filling equipment
• Chemical powder filling and bagging lines
• Plastic pellet conveyor components in polymer processing

For applications that need both anti-static and low friction, DSM also offers Tivar HPV Cleanstat, which combines the internal lubricant of HPV with the conductive additive package of Cleanstat.

Explore the full UHMW applications breakdown for detailed use-case guidance on anti-static grades.

Tivar 88

Tivar 88 is blue-pigmented UHMW-PE formulated for food-zone color coding. In multi-material food plants operating color-coded HACCP programs, blue components signal contact with allergen-containing product streams or provide visual contrast for metal detection systems. Tivar 88 is FDA-compliant and carries equivalent abrasion and impact properties to virgin UHMW.

The UHMW FDA food-grade page covers color coding practices in food HACCP programs and which UHMW colors are FDA-certified.

Tivar Burnguard

Tivar Burnguard is a flame-retardant UHMW compound for applications covered by mine safety regulations or tunnel conveyor fire codes. Standard UHMW-PE is combustible; Tivar Burnguard incorporates a non-halogenated flame retardant package that significantly reduces the material's contribution to fire propagation in accordance with DIN 22118 and similar mining conveyor fire tests.

Burnguard does not carry FDA certification — it is an industrial-only grade. Mechanical properties are slightly reduced compared to Tivar 1000 due to the FR additive loading.

Grade Selection Guide

Use this decision tree to identify the correct grade:

1. Food or pharma contact? → Virgin UHMW (natural or FDA-certified color), Tivar 88 (food zone color coding), or Tivar Cleanstat (pharma powder lines)
2. Non-food industrial, cost-sensitive? → Reprocessed UHMW
3. Highest abrasion or low-temperature (<−20°F) service? → Tivar 1000
4. Sticky product, gravity flow? → Tivar HPV
5. Static dissipation required? → Tivar Cleanstat or Tivar HPV Cleanstat
6. Mine conveyor or tunnel, fire code required? → Tivar Burnguard

More related guides

Cross-cluster suggestions to help shoppers and engineers explore adjacent topics:

Applications

• Bushings Bearings
• Wear Strips Guide Rails
• Food Zone Fda

Industries

• Food Beverage
• Marine

Compare to other materials

• Uhmw Vs. Hdpe
• Uhmw Vs. Polypropylene
• Uhmw Vs. Ptfe Teflon

Frequently asked questions — Uhmw FAQ