POLYOLEFINS | MATERIALS


offer a high-performance, cost-effective solution.” The VSP uses Exceed XP 7052ML, which


ExxonMobil says offers benefits including cost- effectiveness, a tight seal and protection from spoilage, leakage and contamination – for extended shelf life. In addition, the company has helped Constantia develop a freezer film for the ready-to-use plant- based food brand Bonduelle. The mono-material polyethylene (PE) solution replaces multi-material metallized films, so is easier to recycle. The new film can be used for ‘challenging to pack’ vegetables such as spinach and broccoli. “We selected a mono-material PE solution without adhesives to facilitate easier recycling compared to multi-material solutions,” said Arnaud Warusfel, packaging development manager at Bonduelle Europe Long Life. “We encountered numerous challenges but overcame them with the technical expertise of Constantia and ExxonMobil.” In the lab, the film showed superior puncture and


tear resistance, encouraging Bonduelle to conduct a factory trial – where it performed well on the company’s vertical form fill seal (VFFS) packaging line, with high abrasion resistance at high speed.


Frozen treat In similar fashion, Sabic has helped food manufacturer Lamb Weston create bags for frozen produce – based partially on polymers made from used cooking oil. The process begins with the collection of the cooking oil from Lamb Weston’s production, which is then converted to bio-feedstock to produce Sabic high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and Supeer mLLDPE polymers. The final packaging contains at least 60% cooking oil-based polymer. Oerlemans Plastics converts the polymers into a multilayer PE film for Lamb Weston’s pre-fried frozen potato products. “Distributors, retailers and consumers have a


growing preference for more sustainable packaging,” said Sebastiaan Besems, vice president of commercial for EMEA at Lamb Weston. “This project meets our goals to halve our food waste, cut overall product carbon footprint by 25% and move to more circular production by 2030.” A combination of 20% reduced film thickness – the bags have an average unit weight of only 10g – and the use of bio-renewable PE enables a carbon footprint reduction of around 30% compared to the previous bags used for this application. The HDPE in the film delivers high strength and flexibility, while the mLLDPE resin improves sealing.


www.filmandsheet.com


IMAGE: CONSTANTIA Separately, Sabic has helped develop a


greenhouse roofing film made from recycled polymer – its Trucircle LLDPE, produced from pyrolysis oil made from mixed post-consumer plastics. The 200-micron film for the roofing is made by Napco National. It has good tensile strength and elongation and has passed relevant Elmendorf tear and dart impact testing. In addition, it has high clarity and UV stability. It has also been treated with SecondSky technology from Iyris boosts thermal behaviour by blocking near-infrared radiation without affecting the transmission of photosynthetically active radiation.


Floatable sleeves Innovia Films has extended its range of floatable polyolefin shrink films. It says that its RayoFloat range of shrink sleeves


support the recycling of rigid packaging in the PET, HDPE and PP streams. They are made from low density materials that automatically separate from PET flakes in the sink/float process step at recyclers and float to the top of the washing tank – while heavier PET flakes sink to the bottom. “This is an ideal density separation that leads to


very clean PET flakes that can be recycled back into new bottles,” said Marika Knorr, head of sustainability and communications at Innovia Films. The standard RayoFloat sleeve is 50 microns, but Innovia offers a thinner 45-micron version. There is also a high-shrink version for more complex bottles shapes. In addition, RayoFloat WAPO (White APO) protects products that are light-sensitive. This new opaque film is a low-density white polyolefin film that maintains floatability when printed. It contributes to light blocking that later can be applied to containers for light-sensitive products. Innovia has also developed a white, ultra-low density BOPP film for ice cream flow wrap packaging. The new film grade, VL40, was trialled and


January/February 2025 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 29


Above: ExxonMobil helped Constantia develop a freezer film for ‘challenging to pack’


vegetables


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