Short answers, pulled from the story.
Chemists J. Paul Hogan and Robert Banks at Phillips Petroleum demonstrated the polymerization of propylene for the first time in 1951. Giulio Natta and Karl Rehn later discovered stereoselective polymerization to isotactic polypropylene in March 1954.
The density of polypropylene ranges between 0.895 and 0.93 grams per cubic centimeter making it the lightest commodity plastic available today. Perfectly isotactic forms reach melting points up to 185 to 220 degrees Celsius depending on crystallinity levels.
Gas-phase reactions occur inside fluidized bed reactors where propene passes over solid catalyst beds while bulk polymerization uses liquid propene as solvent. Slurry techniques employ C4, C6 alkanes like butane or hexane as inert diluents to suspend growing particles during the reaction.
The FDA issued warnings on the 3rd of January 2012 regarding tissue erosion risks associated with transvaginal mesh treated vaginal prolapse. This material serves as synthetic nonabsorbable suture Prolene manufactured by Ethicon Inc for surgical procedures.
Less than 1 percent of polypropylene generated was recycled as of 2015 because heating degrades the carbon backbone more severely than polyethylene breaking chains into smaller organic molecules. The methyl side group proves susceptible to thermo-oxidative and photo-oxidative degradation processes.