The Packaging & Specialty Plastics business of The Dow Chemical Company launched its latest innovation at Interpack 2017: ADCOTE L86-500 barrier adhesive, a new adhesive solution taht will help maximise resource efficiency, cut packaging cost, enhance recyclability, and optimise the shelf-life of food packaging.
ADCOTE L86-500 barrier adhesive enables the replacement of PET, metallised, and aluminium-based packaging structures with an all-polyolefin solution that is easily recyclable in existing processes.
“Sustainability is increasingly important in the food and beverage industries, with all members of the value chain seeking to find innovative ways to promote recyclability whilst remaining cost competitive,” said Jaroslaw Jelinek, EMEA Marketing Manager for Adhesives at Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics.
“With our latest innovation, we meet the demand of flexible packaging industry players which are looking for more sustainable and effective medium barrier packaging.”
Designed for medium barrier applications, it can provide additional protection against oxygen and moisture. The adhesive can help enable the production of packaging that is recyclable in standard recycling schemes, resource efficient, and has the same shelf-life performance as PET-based packaging. The first all-polyolefin packages enabled by the new adhesive were showcased at Interpack 2017 for aroma- and barrier-sensitive applications, such as coffee and cereal pouches, snack and dry pet food packs as well as wet wipes packages.
When used with selected existing barrier film products, Dow’s solution can help provide down-gauging and layer simplification opportunities, while improving the flex-crack resistance of metallised or aluminium-containing structures. Replacing PET with polyolefin reduces the heat applied at packaging lines to seal the pouch. Here, AFFINITY polyolefin elastomers from Dow were used as they can help enable sealing at lower temperatures, avoiding damage to the outside polypropylene layer, ensuring the integrity of the package.
“There were a number of challenges along the way,” said Daniele Vinci, EMEA Application Technology Leader for Adhesives at Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics.
“Thanks to the comprehensive and combined material science knowledge that Dow has in polyethylene and polyurethane adhesives, we were able to overcome them and develop this exciting proposal to the packaging industry.”
“Long awaited by the industry, the barrier adhesive novelty is the latest addition to Dow’s comprehensive product portfolio that can help ensure that food gets ‘Fresh to Table’,” said Roberto Rigobello, Dow’s Marketing Director for Adhesives in EMEA.
“‘Fresh to Table’ stands for consumer packaging innovations which help meet the needs of a rapidly evolving society, as well as the increasing demand for material performance and functionality, sustainability, cost effectiveness, brand differentiation, shelf appeal, and consumer convenience. It is our commitment to continue to deliver sustainable innovation to the packaging industry.”