FILM ADDITIVES | MATERIALS


Film additives target sustainability goals


Developments in additives for packaging films are increasingly focused on meeting the environmental and sustainability requirements of users.Peter Mapleston reports


Performance and processing certainly remain important requirements in terms of film modification but it is very clear that many of the latest developments are responses to growing calls from both producers and users for improved sustainability. These developments address sustainability in different ways: they may make the film easier to process and recycle, or they may offer a more sustainable production chain through the use of renewable feedstocks or less energy- intensive manufacturing systems. Regulation is a key driver. In the European


Union, for example, all plastics packaging must by law be either reusable or recyclable in a cost- effective manner by 2030. And by that date, 55% of plastics packaging should actually be recycled. That is a challenging goal as flexible packaging can be deceptively complicated. Flexible packaging films frequently rely on a combination of multiple layers of diverse materials — PE, PP, PET, PLA, PA,


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EVOH, and aluminium, among others — to achieve the necessary balance of physical and chemical properties required to protect the packaged contents.


While highly effective in achieving their primary objective of product protection, these multi- material constructions present serious challenges when it comes to recycling. As a result, there is increasing pressure from various players involved throughout the supply chain to utilise mono- material structures whenever possible. Over the past few years, various solutions have been proposed. These mostly involve commodity polymers with improved physical characteristics — biaxially oriented polyethylene (BOPP) for example — or extremely thin barrier coatings rather than internal barrier layers. Additives could provide an alternative route to the same end point. Additive supplier Milliken has developed its UltraGuard Solutions line of tailored


Main image: Additive


technologies can improve film


performance and processing while


enhancing recyclability


January 2022 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 15


IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK


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