ODOUR AND EMISSIONS | TECHNOLOGY
Increasingly demanding end user expectations in industries from packaging to automotive are pushing odour and emission control up the priority list. Mark Holmes looks at how additive and masterbatch producers are responding
Taking control of odour
Preventing – or managing – odours and emissions in plastics is critical in applications ranging from packaging to automotive. It is a top priority, for instance, in the packaging of sensitive beverages such as mineral waters, where premium brand own- ers demand packaging materials that are free of all potential impairments to the flavour or odour of their products. And for good reason, as any ‘off-taste’ can lead to customer complaints, product recalls and serious damage to the manufacturer’s reputation or brand image, according to Mark Hannah, Marketing Director at Austrian master- batch specialist Gabriel-Chemie. “Customers are increasingly demanding higher
transparency within the value chain and the confidence that no materials being used can cause flavour impairment or off-taste,” Hannah says. “A few companies have recognised this trend and are starting to react to this and offer different services to avoid any impairments in the product.”
Shared responsibility The big challenge is that whenever a problem of odour or flavour tainting is identified in production it is typically very hard to know in which part of the
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value chain the problem has occurred. “The impairment can be caused by raw materials such as polymers, pigments or additives, as well as during masterbatch production, incorrect storage or transport conditions or at the converter and filling process stage,” Hannah explains. “A single point solution is not going to be effective, so the supply chain is going to have to work closer together and share more information about the products. For example, if we prevent issues in the masterbatch but the converter runs the masterbatch at a temperature that is too high, then off-taste may occur at the processing stage.” EU regulation 10/2011 governs the materials and objects made of plastics that are intended for food contact. All raw materials that are used in the manufacture of plastic objects and packaging may contain some chemical compound impurities that are present in the material but have not been delib- erately added for a technical reason during the production process. These impurities are classified as NIAS – non-intentionally added substances – and approved substances are included in the Union List published by the EU. “Their presence is generally not known by the
Main image: Bad odour is not just a problem in the lab. It can damage brand reputation and be a potential health hazard in plastics products
January 2018 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 33
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
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