Developments in Impact Copolymer Polypropylene for Durability

Polypropylene-based packaging material with improved drop impact resistance, blocking resistance, slipperiness, and flavor barrier properties for food packaging applications. The packaging material contains an ethylene-propylene block copolymer with a unique phase dispersion structure. The copolymer has a matrix of propylene-based polymer and spindle-shaped domains made of propylene-based elastomer. The spindle shape provides optimal properties like drop impact resistance, blocking resistance, and slipperiness while avoiding issues like poor flavor barrier or appearance.

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Packaging tray for protecting fragile flat objects during handling and transportation. The tray has a housing part to hold the object and a covering part that encloses the object and housing. The covering part has protrusions that extend along the object sides. The protrusions have a first region near the center with lower rigidity than the second region further out. This design allows the protrusions to flex and absorb impacts instead of transmitting them directly to the object. The protrusions also have tapered holding surfaces that contact the object edges. This prevents concentration of forces at the object corners. The modified protrusions and holding surfaces reduce stress and deformation of the object when the tray experiences vibrations or collisions during handling.

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Food contact material compositions with improved stiffness, barrier properties, thermoformability, and optical properties for food packaging applications. The compositions contain polypropylene, a hydrocarbon resin, and optionally additives like nucleating agents. The polypropylene is a blend of two types, one with low melt flow rate and one with high melt flow rate. This combination provides high stiffness, clarity, and processability while reducing shrinkage compared to using a single polypropylene. The hydrocarbon resin further enhances stiffness. The resulting compositions can have desirable properties like high stiffness, low shrinkage, low water vapor transmission, low oxygen transmission, high impact strength, and high clarity for food packaging applications.

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Polypropylene-based multilayer film for packaging that provides excellent heat resistance, cold impact resistance, and low-temperature sealability. The film has a heat seal layer containing 70-100% of a propylene homopolymer and 30-90% of a propylene resin with a melting point of 132-150°C. The other layers contain propylene-ethylene block copolymer and ethylene-propylene elastomer. This film composition allows the film to withstand high temperatures, prevent bag breaking at low temperatures, and seal at low temperatures.

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Packing body carrier and packing body design to reduce localized shocks during transport. The packing body carrier has a body portion to hold the packed item and a load receiving member inside the body portion that receives the load of the packed item. If the packed item moves horizontally, the load receiving member tilts to absorb the motion and prevent the packed item from suddenly stopping and causing a localized shock. This tilting load receiving member allows the packed item to move a bit before being restrained, spreading out the forces and preventing concentrated impacts.

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Laminate and frozen food container/packaging with improved impact resistance, rigidity and environmental friendliness compared to conventional materials. The laminate has an inner layer with high filler content (>50% by mass) using calcium carbonate particles. The inner layer and outer layers use specific thermoplastic resins that satisfy certain conditions to maintain strength and flexibility at low temperatures. The filler content and resin properties allow the laminate to have high impact resistance at cold temperatures. The filler content also reduces environmental impact compared to resin-heavy alternatives.

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Polyolefin packaging material that is fully recyclable and reusable without special separation steps. The packaging uses a polyolefin bonding adhesive layer made from a modified copolymer of C2-C4 olefins like ethylene and butylene. The copolymer is grafted with maleic anhydride at a ratio of 0.5-5%. This adhesive layer bonds two polyolefin films, like a cast polypropylene and an oriented polypropylene, to create a packaging material that can be directly recycled and reused without separating layers. The modified adhesive provides good bonding strength, transparency, and impact resistance.

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Packaging bags with improved drop resistance without compromising recyclability. The bags have a unique multilayer film structure where the seal area between two heat sealable layers contains oriented crystals. This is achieved by using a reinforcing film sandwiched between the heat sealable layers. The reinforcing film contains a blend of olefin resin and a higher melting point reinforcing resin. This provides improved strength in the sealed area without impairing recyclability. The bags have higher drop resistance compared to conventional multilayer bags without sacrificing recyclability.

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Food packaging material replacement for styrene-containing materials like HIPS and PVdC. The replacement is a formable sheet and packaging structure made by co-extrusion of specific materials like post-consumer recycled PET (PCR PET), polypropylene (PP), ethylene methyl acrylate (EMA), ethylene/methyl acrylate/glycidyl methacrylate terpolymer (EMA-GMA), and blue-white TiO2 color concentrate. The structure has improved oxygen and moisture barrier, trim force, seal/peel force, hot fill resistance, and impact resistance compared to standard PET. It replaces HIPS/PVdC in ambient fill applications without compromising packaging performance.

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Multilayer structure for packaging applications like standup pouches that provides improved gas barrier properties after retort processing and better puncture resistance. The structure has an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) barrier layer sandwiched between an intermediate layer containing polypropylene and a hydrocarbon resin, and a heat seal resin layer. The intermediate layer with the specific resin composition improves the barrier properties of the EVOH layer after retorting while avoiding excessive thickening. The hydrocarbon resin in the intermediate layer also improves puncture resistance.

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Barrier laminate structure with improved gas, aroma, and moisture barrier properties, flexibility, intrinsic transparency, and toughness for packaging applications. The structure has alternating layers of polymer blends with thickness less than 3 microns. The blends contain thermoplastic polymers A and B, each blended with thermoplastic elastomers C and D. Polymer B has functional barrier properties. The amounts of elastomers C and D are 3-45 wt%. Polymer B and elastomer D are essentially incompatible. This configuration provides superior barrier, flexibility, transparency, and toughness compared to single-layer polymers or traditional laminates.

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Heat-sealable paper with improved impact resistance and workability compared to prior art. The paper has a specific combination of tensile properties in both vertical and horizontal directions. It meets the following criteria: a geometric mean of 120 J/m2 for vertical and horizontal tensile energy absorption, a vertical to horizontal ratio of 0.5-2.0, and a geometric mean of 2.0 J/g for vertical and horizontal tensile energy absorption index. This paper is useful for packaging applications like bags where impact resistance is important. The heat-sealable layer is applied to one or both sides of the paper substrate.

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Food contact material (FCM) compositions with improved properties like stiffness, barrier, thermoformability, and optical properties for food packaging. The FCM compositions contain a blend of polypropylenes, one with low melt flow rate and one with high melt flow rate, along with a hydrocarbon resin. This blend provides high stiffness, clarity, barrier, and processability compared to using just polypropylene. Nucleating agents can also be added. The FCM compositions can have properties like 2.5 GPa tensile modulus, 40 MPa tensile strength, <20 J/m Izod impact, <0.005 g/100 in2/48 hr water vapor transmission rate, <0.07 cc/pkg/24 hr oxygen transmission rate, <80% haze, and <50% el

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Packaging container with improved tray mechanism to prevent tray damage and stabilize contents during drops. The container has a bottom, cover, ridge member, and tray. The ridge member is fixed to the bottom and has a vertical surface. The tray slides on the ridge member and has protrusions that engage slots on the ridge member. This prevents the tray from moving excessively when the cover is opened and closed. The protrusions also prevent the tray from flying out if the container drops. The ridge member stabilizes the tray position and prevents it from getting stuck or breaking like a hinged tray.

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A reusable bottle that can be frozen without cracking or breaking. The bottle has a body and cap made from a specific polymer composition. The body contains 85-90% polypropylene random copolymer (PPRC) and 10-15% thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) like SEBS. The cap has 85-90% polypropylene block copolymer (PPB) and 10-15% SEBS. This composition improves impact resistance and prevents cracking when the frozen bottle is handled. The TPE additive in the polypropylene matrix enhances ductility and flexibility at low temperatures.

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Multi-layered pressure packaging with improved drop resistance, impact resistance, weight, stiffness, and environmental impact compared to traditional packaging. The packaging has a stretch blow molded container with a foam layer enclosing the body and bottom. The foam is formed in place by injecting foamable material between the molded container and an outer enclosure. This provides a sandwich structure with the foam layer sandwiched between the container and outer enclosure. A second layer can be applied over the foam to hold it together with the container. This reduces weight, provides improved stiffness and strength, and improved drop and impact resistance compared to just molding the container from foam. The foam layer can also have a polymer layer inside the container for chemical resistance to the filling material.

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Composite materials made by melt processing of thermoplastic polymers with non-fibrillated wood particles, like chips, that have a size greater than 1 mm. The wood particles are evenly distributed within the polymer matrix. The polymer melts and surrounds the wood, creating a composite with good melt processability. The resulting composite can be used to make articles like containers, bottles, and tubes with improved mechanical and barrier properties compared to pure polymers.

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Reusable freezable water bottle with improved impact resistance and ability to withstand freezing temperatures without damage. The bottle has a body made of a polymer composition containing 85-90% polypropylene random copolymer (PPRC) and 10-15% thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) like SEBS. This composition provides impact resistance when frozen. The cap is made of 85-90% polypropylene block copolymer (PPB) and 10-15% SEBS. The composition ratio and specific polymer types are optimized to balance properties like impact resistance, flexibility, and processability.

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A packaging insert for protecting and shipping electronic devices like smartphones that can absorb shocks and vibrations better than standard inserts. The insert has flaps that fold inward to create a void for the device. The flaps can be selectively folded at outer ends to increase the void size. Some flaps have breakable frangible portions between the ends. Folding the flaps at the second outer end breaks these portions. This allows the insert to expand to fit larger devices. The inner flaps fold over the void when the outer flaps are folded.

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A multilayer film for packaging organoleptic-sensitive products like water that has improved abuse resistance, odor barrier properties, and conformity to piercing probes compared to existing films. The film has an outer sealant layer with high density homopolymer, bulk layers with low density copolymer, modified tie layers, and an odor barrier layer. The film structure provides abuse resistance, conformity, and odor barrier without compromising seal integrity.

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