MATERIALS | BARRIER PACKAGING


Right: Tosaf’s UV9389PE EU film additive protects food from degrada- tion by UV radiation


barrier that allows carbon footprint reduction, it says. As an aqueous dispersion, it is fluorine-free, meets regulatory requirements for direct pharma- ceutical contact and supports the design of sustainable films with thinner coating designs. The coating was engineered to maximise the


water vapour barrier without sacrificing its oxygen barrier, chemical resistance or transparency. It has good thermoformability, enabling smaller pack sizes with higher pill density compared with other coating solutions, says Solvay. “This new coating can help packaging film manufacturers achieve superior barrier properties with thinner structures, leading to a significant carbon footprint reduction of the blister film,” said Federico Baruffi, global marketing manager for packaging at Solvay Specialty Polymers.


UV barrier Tosaf has developed a film additive that protects food from degradation by UV radiation. UV9389PE EU offers a high blocking effect against UV in the 200-380nm wavelength range, even at low thickness. This protects foods from discolouration, and loss


of vitamins and flavours – thus helping to prevent food wastage due to premature spoilage. The optical properties – especially transparency


– of films using UV9389PE EU are almost complete- ly retained, says Tosaf. Further advantages are the high efficiency – even at low dosages – and the minimal influences on behaviour during produc- tion and further processing of the films, including printing and lamination. The range of applications extends beyond


foodstuffs to other industrial film applications where protection of sensitive goods from UV radiation is required.


Right: Solvay’s Diofan Ultra736 is a high-barrier PVDC coating for pharmaceu- tical blister films


Sustainable balance AMI recently ran its Specialty Packaging Films conference in Bangkok, Thai- land. Chris Cheetham, sales director for the eastern hemi- sphere at Bobst, told del- egates how the company’s Alubond process can improve the barrier proper- ties of polyolefin substrates. Modern barrier packag- ing must pay more attention to sustainability than ever before, he said, citing three pillars of sustainable flexible packaging: mono-material olefins;


34 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | March 2024


compostable, biodegradable and bio-based; and paper/fibre-based. At the same time, barrier requirements remain as tough as ever. “The common target is to replace traditional


multi-material structures with new sustainable duplex and triplex, mono-material and alternative material in high and ultra-high barrier packaging structures,” he said. Its Alubond process is a hybrid coating technol-


ogy that claims improved adhesion between the metal layer of the coating and the underlying substrate – equivalent to what conventional ‘plasma’ systems have been able to achieve. This helps to improve barrier performance, he said. The process is typically used to metallise PET, BOPP and CPP, leading to a structure with a high peel force. This gives a higher adhesion than stand- ard metallised film, he said.


Bobst has been working on an optimised version


of the technology – dubbed Alubond Gen II – which has several improvements. These include optimis- ing metallising defects for more sensitive markets and further enhancing barrier performance. “After in-house testing, we are looking for external partners for controlled and selective production field testing,” he said.


Metal future At the same event, Agrani Punj, head of international business at Supervac Industries in India, high- lighted recent – and future –


trends in metallisation. He said the market for metallised film is expected to exceed US$7 billion by 2033 – a


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IMAGE: ALEKSANDAR KARANOV


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