Developments in Polypropylene for Improved Performance

Biodegradable barrier film for packaging applications that has improved oxygen barrier properties and transparency compared to existing biodegradable films. The film is made by alternately laminating layers of an aliphatic polyester like polylactic acid and a polyvinyl alcohol. This structure provides both oxygen barrier and transparency. The layers are melt extruded, alternated, and then biaxially stretched and heat set to form the film.

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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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Environmentally friendly biodegradable food packaging made from chia seed mucilage, glycerol, and sorbitol. The packaging has improved physical and barrier properties compared to chia seed mucilage alone. By optimizing the polyol concentrations, films with high tensile strength, low water vapor permeability, and flexibility were obtained. The polyols enhance the film properties by modifying the mucilage structure. The films can be used for edible food coating, drug delivery, and other applications.

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A multilayer biodegradable film with improved uniformity, flexibility, and noise level compared to existing biodegradable films. The film has alternating layers of a polylactic acid-based polymer and an aliphatic polyester or aliphatic-aromatic copolymerized polyester. The uniformity of the polylactic acid layers is optimized to 0.2 μm or less. This reduces thickness variations between layers. The film has good balance of properties like flexibility, transparency, and noise level compared to films with only polylactic acid layers. It also has better interlayer adhesion and processing.

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A carbon neutral heat-sealable layered film for packaging applications. The film has a biaxially stretched polyamide base layer containing a specific polyamide resin derived from biomass, sandwiched between sealant layers. The sealant layers are made of a propylene-α olefin random copolymer with varying amounts of linear low-density polyethylene. The biomass-derived polyamide in the base layer provides heat resistance and impact strength. The sealant layers provide heat sealing and pinhole resistance. The film is carbon neutral since it contains biomass-derived polyamide and the sealant layers have biomass-derived LLDPE.

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Biodegradable film made from bacterial cellulose with enhanced properties for food packaging applications. The film has a bacterial cellulose matrix with protein entrapped inside. The matrix is coated with a crosslinked layer containing an ionic polysaccharide, polyether, and metal cation. This composite film has advantages like high oil and water resistance, biodegradability, and transparency compared to plain bacterial cellulose. The protein-coated cellulose is made by growing a symbiotic bacteria-yeast colony to produce cellulose, then harvesting and coating it with the ionic polysaccharide-polyether-metal mixture.

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Packaging material that can be compactly shipped and then expanded on demand to provide cushioning for fragile items during shipping. The packaging material is made by consolidating a web of overlaid plies with interior cavities filled with unexpanded expansion material. The material is shipped in this dense, compact configuration. To expand the material for cushioning, conditions like heat or mixing are applied to the expansion material to cause it to expand and fill the cavities. This provides cushioning for the enclosed items. The expansion material can be expandable foams, gels, or other materials that can be expanded when activated.

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Liquid or aerosol jet coating compositions for metal packaging containers like cans and closures, with water-based polymer dispersions having particles smaller than 10 microns. The coatings are applied using jet techniques instead of roll or spray methods. The compositions contain polymer particles in a water carrier, with lubricants for flexibility. They provide balanced properties like hardness, corrosion resistance, and aesthetics for packaging liquids like food and beverages. The coatings are applied directly to metal substrates using jet processes, avoiding the need for large, complex coating equipment.

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Gas barrier film for packaging materials that has low oxygen transmission rate and good lamination strength after heat sterilization. The film has a structure of substrate layer (polypropylene), resin layer (copolymer of propylene and another monomer), anchor coat layer (acrylic resin), and vapor deposition layer (inorganic oxide). The anchor coat layer thickness is 0.1-0.7 microns. This film configuration allows the film to have a low oxygen transmission rate for preserving packaged goods while also having good lamination strength after heat sterilization.

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Heat shrinkable film, label, and packaging material with improved properties for heat shrinking containers. The film has a copolyester resin with controlled crystallinity. The crystallinity is adjusted to have a specific difference in reversible heat capacity before and after the glass transition temperature. This provides better balance between thermal properties like shrinkage and chemical resistance compared to conventional polyester films. The film can be made by preparing the copolyester, casting it into a film, and then heating and stretching it to set the crystallinity.

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Biodegradable polymeric compositions for packaging consumer goods like food, clothing, and household items that are predominantly home compostable. The compositions contain a blend of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and other biodegradable polymers like polyesters and cellulose esters. The PHAs provide biodegradability, while the other polymers enhance properties like strength and barrier. A nucleating agent is added to improve processing. The blended compositions can be used in home composting systems to biodegrade along with food waste.

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Laminated article for packaging materials that uses biodegradable polymers for the sealant layer to address environmental issues of plastic pollution. The sealant layer is made of a specific polymer, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (P3HB3HH), that exhibits seawater degradability. The P3HB3HH sealant layer has melting characteristics with a peak temperature between 130-160°C. This allows good bonding when heat sealed without excessive melt flow and leakage. The sealant layer prevents migration of the sealant material during heat sealing like some conventional polymers. The laminated article can be formed by extrusion lamination or coating of the P3HB3HH sealant layer onto a substrate and barrier layers.

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Filter material for tea bags and other food packaging that uses a biodegradable binder to enhance strength and compostability. The filter contains fibers and a non-fibrous binder like polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, or copolymers thereof. This binder enhances wet strength properties like tensile and crimp strength compared to traditional synthetic binders. The biodegradable binder also prevents water ingress into the crimped area, making the fold more permanent and reducing dust transfer through the filter. The biobased binder improves compostability and sustainability compared to fossil-based binders.

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Co-extruded multi-layer polymeric films for packaging flowable products like food and beverages. The films have a unique structure with an inner sealant layer, outer sealant layer, and a thin barrier core layer sandwiched between. The sealant layers are high-density ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers. The barrier layer is a low-density ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer with high ethylene content. This provides good barrier, toughness, and flexibility while maintaining recyclability. The films can be used in bags for flowable products that require refrigeration without leakage or emptying issues.

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Multilayer packaging material with improved barrier properties, strength, and moisture resistance compared to conventional multilayer packaging. The material consists of three layers: a polar layer, a substrate layer, and a non-polar layer. The polar layer enhances moisture resistance, the non-polar layer improves oil resistance, and the substrate layer provides strength. This configuration provides balanced barrier properties against both water and oil. The polar layer could be made of a polymer like polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and the non-polar layer could be made of a polymer like polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) or polyhydroxybutyrate valerate (PHBV).

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Making biodegradable plastic films from food waste and food byproducts using a simple extraction and blending process. The method involves treating starchy foods like bananas, potatoes, or grains with an acid to extract the starch. The starch precipitates are separated, dried, and mixed with water to form a slurry. This slurry can be cast into films along with other biopolymers like chitosan. The films have properties like strength, elongation, and water resistance suitable for packaging applications. The blended films can be biodegradable in water, soil, or compost.

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Packaging material that can be expanded after shipping to save space during transportation. The packaging has regions with sealing materials that can be activated with different conditions. When the conditions are met, the sealing materials bond the regions together to seal the packaging. This allows the material to fold up and ship in a compact form with the regions unsealed. Once delivered, the sealing conditions can be applied to expand the packaging by sealing the regions and inflating any expandable materials.

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Polyester coating for metal packaging applications that replaces epoxy coatings for food and beverage cans. The coating composition contains a specific polyester polyol made from monomers like IPA, TPA, sebacic acid, 1,3-cyclohexanedimethanol, and trimellitic acid. This polyester polyol is combined with a resole phenolic resin and other components like catalyst, solvent, and curing agents to form the coating. The polyester polyol provides flexibility and adhesion while the phenolic resin adds corrosion resistance. The coating composition is used in metal packaging applications like can linings to replace BPA-containing epoxy coatings.

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Mono-material containers made entirely from a single foam material, such as polylactic acid (PLA), for improved recyclability and reduced waste compared to containers made from different materials that require adhesives to join. The containers are formed by joining together multiple portions of PLA foam without adhesives to create a container made entirely from the same foam material. This allows the container to be fully recycled as the same material can be easily identified and separated during recycling. The containers can be used for applications like insulated shipping containers, food packaging, and protective packaging.

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Customizable, monolithic foam containers with improved thermal performance for shipping temperature-sensitive products. The containers are made by joining sections of foam made from polylactic acid (PLA) using heat sealing instead of adhesives. The PLA foam sections can have variable thickness and be cut to size. Inside the container, stand-offs made from PLA foam are attached to create air pockets for added insulation. This allows customized container shapes, sizes, and thermal protection without additional materials or seams.

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