Syensqo has completed its initiative to recycle multilayer food packaging structures with its Ixan polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) into valuable feedstock for other applications, within a standard polyethylene (PE) based waste stream.
Syensqo says the trials have been conducted by CSI, a provider of testing and certification services for controlled environments and part of IMQ group. The tests were performed with structures for high-barrier meat packaging using PE/ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)/Ixan /EVA/PE multilayer films.
The impact of the structures on the recycling process was evaluated in comparison to a reference sample of real flexible packaging waste. The trials were conducted in compliance with EN 13430, which defines the requirements for packaging material recycling in Europe. The multilayer Ixan PVDC structures are said to have passed all testing without any critical issues in grinding, subsequent washing/drying, extrusion/pelletizing and injection moulding even at 220°C.
According to Syensqo, the project has proven that multilayer food packaging with PVDC can be mechanically recycled in an open loop approach together with PE waste, enabling the ‘efficient, flexible and sustainable’ reuse of the resulting feedstock in injection moulded items such as flowerpots, pallets and benches.
The company partnered with TOMRA last year to demonstrate the ‘technical and economic feasibility’ of separating and sorting multi-component plastic structures in which polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) serves as a barrier layer. Apparently, the results proved that multilayer films containing PVDC can be separated from mixed plastic waste using industrial sorting equipment to achieve clean-grade polyolefin and PVDC recycling streams.
More recently, ExxonMobil, Alico, and Kuraray collaboratively designed a high-performance shrink barrier bag to protect fresh meats against oxygen and humidity without relying on PET or PVDC. The partners sought to achieve an ‘optimal’ balance between mechanical properties including flexibility, toughness, oxygen barrier properties and high shrinkage range.
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