ADDITIVES | FILM
Right: Sukano and Emery Oleochemicals have
developed a PET anti- fogging
compound for direct food contact PET packaging applications
greenhouse films of more than three years. Agricultural film is also a target market for
Clariant, which recently introduced a light stabiliser for use in mulch films, which optimise growing conditions by protecting both crops and soil from contamination and loss of moisture and nutrients. AddWorks AGC 970 enables converters to extend the service life of their products, in particular by increasing UV resistance and resistance to high levels of agrochemicals. The granular additive can be dosed directly during conversion. Swiss additive and colour masterbatch producer
Sukano has partnered with Emery Oleochemicals, a producer of natural oil and fat-based chemicals, to develop a PET antifog for direct food contact PET packaging. The companies say that two years of intensive testing and simulation of end-use applications have gone into the product, which is formulated to be used at 100% in cold applications. The additive compound is designed for both rigid and oriented coextruded films, using the co-polyester compound in one cap-layer of an A/B film structure and PET as the core-layer. According to the companies, the resulting product performance is so robust that, even after orientation in several different ratios, the anti-fog function remains active and integral, and the film remains transparent. Fogging — the unwanted formation of small
water droplets on the surface of films — is a common problem when packing moisture- containing products such as fruit, vegetables or meat in a tight container. The droplets form due to the lower surface tension of the plastic and not only hinder a clear view into the packaging but in
sensitive applications can damage or reduce the shelf life of the packaged products.
Anti-fog for PET Anti-fog coatings, which encourage the formation of a homogenous transparent water layer rather than droplets, are well known and in use in the PET sector but have the downside of adding another operational step. While internal anti-fog additives are used in polyolefins, current anti-fog additives do not work in PET, according to Sukano and Emery, which has a number of antifog additives in its Green Polymer Additives line. “Additives that work well in flexible vinyl meat
wrap films or polyolefin films do not necessarily work well in PET. Polarity, crystallinity and other physical or chemical characteristics of the base polymers are too different, and the additive molecule design needs to take that into
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IMAGE: SUKANO
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