Polyethylene for artificial turf yarn and monofilament: LLDPE for grass, HDPE for rope, netting and shade cloth

Who buys turf yarn and monofilament resin, and who we serve

Several U.S. synthetic turf makers are based in and around Dalton, Georgia, where the carpet industry built up yarn extrusion and tufting skills. Some of the larger turf makers extrude their own yarn in-house and buy resin in bulk, often direct from producers. We are most useful to the plants around them: independent yarn extruders, landscape and pet turf lines, rope, twine and net makers, and shade cloth and screen knitters who buy by the gaylord or truckload and want a second source.

Big lines on producer contracts usually buy direct. We can still help them with trial quantities, second sources and small-volume additives.

LLDPE and metallocene turf yarn: melt index and density windows

Every polyethylene value on this page is melt index (MI) at 190°C / 374°F, 2.16 kg, by ASTM D1238 or ISO 1133, with density by ASTM D1505 or D792. A PP melt flow rate at 230°C / 446°F is a different test and does not compare. See melt flow index explained.

Turf grass yarn most often runs on LLDPE at an MI of about 2–6 g/10 min and a density of about 0.918–0.935 g/cm³. As one published example, Dow lists DOWLEX 2064G, an LLDPE for turf slit tape and monofilament, at 2.5 g/10 min and 0.935 g/cm³, the stiff end of that window. Turf resin patents for metallocene polyethylene claim densities of about 0.910–0.937 g/cm³ and MI of about 0.5–5 g/10 min. The grade you run now sets the real target.

Typical published windows from producer data sheets and turf resin patents. Confirm against the data sheet for the grade you run, and let a chemist check any equivalent before you switch.

Softness vs. resilience: what makes a blade stand back up

• Density. Softer, lower-density yarn suits landscape and pet turf, where feel matters most. Stiffer yarn suits sports fields that take heavy traffic. Many yarn makers tune with a blend rather than one grade.
• Comonomer and catalyst. In the Ghent study, octene LLDPE gave better bending recovery than hexene LLDPE at the same crystallinity. Turf resin patents from several producers describe metallocene polyethylene for monofilament yarn where softness and toughness are both needed.
• Draw ratio. Drawing raises modulus and tensile strength, but the same study found that resilience and recovery fall as draw ratio rises. Your line settings can matter as much as the resin, so trial a new grade at your normal draw.
• Cross section and thickness. Shaped spinneret holes (diamond, C-shaped, ribbed or spined profiles) and blade thickness change stiffness. In the study, thicker monofilament cooled more slowly in the quench and recovered less well.
• Blends. Patents describe turf yarns made mostly of LLDPE with a small share of LDPE, about 1–15%, to help processing. If you blend, tell us both grades so a substitute does not upset the ratio.
• Friction and skin feel. Slip additives and silicone (PDMS) lower surface friction. One turf yarn patent blends PDMS into the polyethylene for exactly that. Keep the slip package the same when you change resin.

UV stabilization (HALS), pigment and color masterbatch

A turf blade or monofilament is mostly surface, with little material behind it, so it loses strength in sunlight much faster than a thick part. Most lines add UV and color as masterbatch at the extruder.

• HALS do most of the work. Hindered amine light stabilizers are the usual choice in polyolefin yarn, sometimes with a UV absorber. Green and light colors give little UV screening of their own, so the HALS level carries the warranty. Carbon black screens UV strongly, which is one reason black rope, net and shade grades last longer outdoors. See UV-resistant plastics.
• Size the package to the outdoor life. Give us the warranty in years, where the product will be installed (high-sun regions are harder on yarn) and the weathering test your customer names. Sports field buyers often ask for artificial weathering results on the yarn.
• Watch what deactivates HALS. Acidic chemicals, including some farm sprays containing sulfur or chlorine, can deactivate some HALS. That matters for shade cloth and crop netting. Tell us what the fabric will be exposed to.
• Pigment. Pigments must survive your melt temperature and disperse well enough to pass fine screens. Some interact with stabilizers, so qualify color and UV together and keep them together. Infrared-reflective pigments are sold to lower blade temperature in the sun; ask the masterbatch maker for test data at your color.
• Let-down and carrier. Color masterbatch commonly runs about 1–4% by weight, and UV masterbatch is set by the target life. Dose by weight with a gravimetric feeder, and use a PE carrier with a melt index close to your base resin. See custom color concentrate and masterbatch vs. precolored resin.
• Color across lots. Turf is sold by color, and a field installed in phases has to match. Agree a color tolerance (Delta E) and light source with your masterbatch supplier. See color varies from lot to lot.

Fibrillated slit tape vs. monofilament, and thatch yarn

Turf yarn is made two main ways. Monofilament is extruded through a spinneret with shaped holes, quenched in water, then drawn in a hot oven. Slit tape is cast as a film, slit into tapes and drawn; fibrillated yarn is then cut by a pinned roller into a net-like tape that opens up on the field. The same LLDPE grade can serve both: Dow lists 2064G for slit tape and monofilament.

Infill, heat and the backing: what the yarn has to survive

• Infill. Many sports fields are filled with sand plus rubber granules (recycled tire crumb, EPDM or TPE) or with organic or coated-sand infills. Abrasive infill wears blades, so wear resistance and stiffness matter more on filled fields.
• Heat on the field. Synthetic turf in full sun gets much hotter than natural grass, and dark rubber infill adds to it. LLDPE turf monofilament in one study showed a DSC melting peak near 123°C (253°F), and it softens well below that, and there are reports of turf damaged by sunlight reflected from nearby windows.
• Heat in your process. The draw oven and the backing coating cure decide how much heat the yarn sees after spinning. Dow markets 2064G for improved thermal stability in turf yarn, which shows producers design for it. Ask about the antioxidant package when you change grades.
• Backing and tuft bind. Yarn is tufted into a primary backing and locked with a latex or polyurethane coating. Polyethylene bonds poorly, so tuft bind depends on the coating and the yarn surface. A new grade, or more slip or processing aid that blooms to the surface, can change tuft bind, so test it before you switch.
• Drying. Polyethylene does not need drying. Use warm air only to clear condensation when cold resin comes into a warm plant, and dry masterbatch per its own sheet if its carrier or filler picks up water. See the drying chart.

HDPE monofilament for rope, netting, twine, shade cloth and screens

Rope and twine, fishing and sports nets, knitted shade cloth, windbreak and insect screens, and debris and safety netting are made from HDPE monofilament drawn to high orientation. These grades sit at higher density and lower MI than turf yarn, with a narrow molecular weight distribution so the filament draws evenly and keeps its knot strength. Published rope and net grades run about 0.4–1 g/10 min (190°C / 374°F, 2.16 kg) at about 0.950–0.957 g/cm³. A few sit outside that: one bio-based monofilament grade lists 0.948 g/cm³, and one twine grade 0.964.

Producer-published typical values, not specifications, shown as examples only with no endorsement. Several are made outside North America. A chemist matches a domestic or imported equivalent by MI, density, distribution and additives.

• Tenacity is the buyer’s number. Rope and net makers buy on tenacity, in grams per denier or cN/dtex, and on knot strength after drawing. Both depend on draw ratio as much as on the resin, so compare a new grade on your own line at your normal draw.
• Compare distribution, not just MI. Two grades at the same MI can draw differently. Ask for a flow rate ratio, such as MI at 21.6 kg over MI at 2.16 kg. The Hostalen sheet, for example, lists 33 g/10 min at 21.6 kg against 1.0 at 2.16 kg.
• Processing window. Producer sheets for these grades list barrel or extrusion temperatures of about 200–270°C (392–518°F).
• HDPE or PP? Both float. PP tape and monofilament grades (MFR about 2–4 g/10 min at 230°C / 446°F, 2.16 kg) are lighter, and many rope makers run both resins. See PP fiber and tape resin.
• Nylon for some nets and lines. Many fishing nets and lines are nylon monofilament. See nylon fiber and monofilament resin.

PFAS-free processing aids and state turf rules

Fluoropolymer processing aids are common in polyethylene tape and turf yarn because they stop melt fracture and die buildup at parts-per-million levels. Fluoropolymers count as PFAS under the broad definitions in several state laws, so turf buyers and installers are asking for yarn made without them. The PFAS-free options are silicone-based or organic processing-aid masterbatches. They may need a higher dose and longer conditioning, and metallocene grades are harder to run without a fluoropolymer aid. See PFAS-free alternatives and melt fracture and sharkskin.

State turf rules (statute text checked October 2026):

• Colorado bars installing artificial turf that contains intentionally added PFAS on or after January 1, 2026. Turf installed before that date may still be maintained.
• Vermont bars manufacturers from making, selling or distributing artificial turf with intentionally added PFAS in the state, from January 1, 2026.

Other states and cities have passed or are considering broader PFAS product laws with their own product lists and dates, and rules change, so check the current rules where the field will be installed. These laws apply to the finished turf, but the question comes back to you: ask your resin and masterbatch suppliers for a written statement on whether any PFAS is intentionally added, including in the processing aid. This is not legal advice.

Volumes, packaging and what to put on the RFQ

Gaylords hold about 1,000–1,600 lb and suit trials, color work and smaller monofilament lines. Bulk trucks carry about 40,000–50,000 lb for plants with silos. Hopper railcars, about 180,000–210,000 lb, are normal for large turf plants and are mostly bought on producer contracts. Turf and monofilament grades move with the broader polyethylene market; see polyethylene price per pound for how PE prices are set. We do not post prices, and we confirm a ship date with every quote.

• Grade you run now. Producer and grade, or the data sheet and two or three recent COAs with lot MI and density.
• Product and process. Turf monofilament, fibrillated tape or thatch; or rope, twine, net, shade cloth or screen. Add denier or dtex, blade width and thickness, and profile.
• MI and density with methods. MI at 190°C / 374°F, 2.16 kg, a flow rate ratio if you track one, density method, comonomer and catalyst.
• Additives. Antioxidant, slip, processing aid (fluoropolymer or PFAS-free), UV package and target years, color and tolerance, and which masterbatches you add yourself.
• Line results you hold. Draw ratio, tenacity, elongation, shrinkage, curl or bending recovery, and tuft bind, so a substitute is judged on the same numbers.
• Documents. PFAS declaration, Prop 65 or restricted-substance statements, and any bio-based or recycled content claim with its test method. See resin compliance documents.
• Quantity. This order, yearly use, release size, package and ship-to city. Every prime lot from our suppliers ships with a COA.

Common questions

If your grade is not listed, tell us what you run. We source commodity, engineering and specialty resins.