South Korean chemical company LG Chem and the extrusion machine manufacturer Reifenhäuser have signed a partnership with the aim of developing films for recyclable packaging.
In May 2024, the companies presented a Machine Direction Oriented (MDO)-PE film that is only 18 micrometers (μm), which had been produced on an EVO Ultra Stretch blown film line from Reifenhäuser with specially developed PE materials.
LG Chem and Reifenhäuser are also aiming to work on further reducing material consumption by downgauging towards the level of conventional PET-PE laminates and thus making the production of MDO-PE films more profitable.
Technically, this is achieved due to the different densities of PET film and MDO-PE film by replacing the standard 12 μm PET film with a 16 to 17 μm MDO-PE film.
With the reduction to 18 μm, the partners say that they are already very close to achieving this goal. However, the experts see further potential: “The downgauging limit has not yet been reached,” says Christoph Lettowsky, Technical Sales Manager at Reifenhäuser Blown Film.
“Thanks to the patented position of our MDO Ultra Stretch unit directly in the line’s haul-off, the film is stretched from the first heat. This makes the process particularly stable, which is otherwise often the limiting factor for material reduction. We therefore see even more scope, which we will use in combination with further recipe developments for even thinner films in the future.”
The companies say that the 18 μm MDO PE film without PFAS additives was produced stably and reproducibly over many hours in test runs at the Reifenhäuser technical center and then printed and processed into finished pouches.
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