< PreviousSET POINT Sekisui Kydex, a producer of thermoplastic and recycled resins, has named Yoritaka Yamauchi as CEO. Yamauchi, who is based in Bloomsburg, Pa., has an extensive background in management at Sekisui Chemical, the parent company of Sekisui Kydex. In addition, his knowledge of resin compounds and products, especially PVC, makes him an ideal leader to focus on business and engineering markets for the company’s products. As regards his first-year goals at the company, Yamauchi said: “I am focusing on our business strategy and product engineering. Over the next year, I will spend time understanding our products, how they’re made and [what differentiates them from competitors] to ensure we provide the best service to meet customer needs.” Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in business administration and finance, Yamauchi went to work for Sekisui Chemical in Vietnam, the U.S., Germany and Thailand. In Thailand his responsibilities included business development manager and head of sales, where he directed a $500 million business. From 2005 to 2016, he worked for Sekisui Chemical in the Urban Infrastructure and Environmental Planning business in the International Division, Civil Engineering System Division and Overseas Pipe Renewal Division. He moved into the High-Performance Plastics Co. (HPPC) business in 2016 to work in the Specialty Chemicals Division, where in 2017 he was the HPPC head of sales in Thailand. Since 2019, Yamauchi has been head of sales in the Specialty Chemicals Division. “The future of Sekisui Kydex is exciting. We will focus our efforts on enhanced quality, product diversification and our sustainability initiatives,” says Yamauchi. “We are poised to deliver more than our customers can imagine.” SEKISUI KYDEX NAMES YAMAUCHI CEO SPE Board, p. 5 Nebel is a dynamic and motivated professional with the educational background and proven work ethic to guide and support product engineering, strategic planning, compliance and other functions within the plastics industry. She has demonstrated the ability to deliver excellent service in fast-paced environments, and has the skillset to analyze complex information, manage key projects, facilitate global business and lead diverse teams. She is also widely known among many society members and others in the industry as one half of SPE’s PlastChicks podcast, which she develops with her colleague Mercedes Landazuri. Nebel’s academic background includes a degree in plastics engineering technology from Pennsylvania State University. The SPE board of directors includes: » Bruce Mulholland, president » Patrick Farrey, CEO » Conor Carlin, president-elect » Todd Bier, director » Dr. Praveen Boopalachandran, director » Lynzie Nebel, director » James Waddell, director, business and finance » Dr. ScottEastman, director, SPE chapters » Dr. Jason Lyons, past president areas, the company will modernize and expand the office building from the ground up. This will provide space for further personnel growth. The Dietach location is looking for mechatronics engineers, commissioning engineers, software engineers, development engineers and other specialists as a result of the planned expansion. Jörg Fuhrmann was named to his position in November. He returned to Engel after having been previously employed in the group as division manager of Automation Technology Austria and managing director of Automation Technology Germany from 2007 to 2016. During that time he was responsible for the introduction of the Viper and other product lines. Fuhrmann significantly expanded the business unit after 2007, laying the foundation for the success of Engel‘s automation technologies. The high level of automation expertise and the company's robot program are pillars of Engel‘s success in these areas, Fuhrmann remarks. "If we coordinate the injection molding machine, automation and processing technology, we can leverage the efficiency and quality potential to the maximum." Yoritaka Yamauchi, CEO of Sekisui Kydex Engel, p. 6 Third-quarter data released by the Reshoring Initiative show that reshoring plus foreign direct investment (FDI) job announcements were at the highest rate ever recorded in the U.S., about 15 percent above first quarter 2022, the previous record. Preliminary fourth-quarter 2022 data look strong enough to reach a yearly total of 350,000+ jobs, according to Harry Moser, founder and president of the Reshoring Initiative, which is based in Sarasota, Fla. Among takeaways from the report: » A projected 350,000 reshoring jobs announced for 2022. » Electric vehicle battery investments make electrical equipment the top reshoring industry. » Private and federal entities are investing in a skilled workforce, addressing one of the leading barriers to manufacturing success. » With the Inflation Reduction Act, Chips Act and Infrastructure Bill, the U.S. government is finally getting started on an industrial policy. More comprehensive plans, however, are needed. In 2021, the private and federal push for domestic supply of essential goods propelled reshoring and FDI job announcements to a record high. Projections from Reshoring Initiative quarter-three 2022 data show reshoring and FDI continuing these gains. The 2022 projection of 350,000 jobs announced is up from 260,000 in 2021. If the projection is achieved, 2022 will bring the total reshoring and FDI jobs announced since 2010 to over 1.6 million. RESHORING AND FDI ON TRACK FOR RECORD 350,000 JOBS IN ‘22 8 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | www.plasticsengineering.orgTHE LEGAL ANGLE A November government oversight report found what it calls deficiencies, and recommends changes, in how the Food and Drug Administration regulates food- contact substances. Plastics are front-and- center in the report, which is titled “Food Safety: FDA Oversight of Substances Used in Manufacturing, Packaging and Transporting Food Could Be Strengthened.” The report is from the Government Accountability Office and was created with input from stakeholders inside and outside government. It is the latest chapter in a long-running saga, which has seen various activities targeting food-packaging materials, especially plastics. Consumer advocacy groups and internal government watchdogs have complained about FDA’s oversight of food-contact materials, especially substances considered Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS), in petitions to regulators, an unsuccessful lawsuit and before Congress. The report emphasizes post-market actions, i.e., revisiting the safety of substances on the market that were previously found to be safe for food contact, but now might be considered safe. It describes three examples of FDA stopping the use of food- contact substances: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), short-chain PFAS and diphenyl ketone (benzophenone). The report is focused on the substances FDA has cleared and doesn’t encompass companies’ self-determined GRAS conclusions. Objections relating to such conclusions, including the fact that FDA isn’t aware of them, have been the subject of other proposals to change the law. For example, there’s a bill under consideration in Congress that would create the “Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act of 2022.” If passed, it would instruct FDA to revise regulations about GRAS substances such that manufacturers would have to give FDA notice of their GRAS conclusions, among other changes. (The bill has been referred to a committee and, if reintroduced when Congress convenes in January, would be renamed to reflect the new year.) The most significant focus of the new GAO report is the workings of FDA’s Food Contact Notification (FCN) program, analyzing FDA data from 2000 to 2022. It notes that, since 2000, FCNs “represented about 93 percent of FDA’s total reviews resulting in food- contact substances being allowed to enter the market.” The report points out advantages of FCNs, namely, that the clearance they provide is company-specific, and that they have a four-month FDA review process, which is relatively swift and predictable. (Another advantage is that the law places the burden on FDA to object within that four-month review period, otherwise the FCN becomes effective.) The report recommends that FDA “… should request [from Congress] specific legal authority to compel companies to provide specific information that they have about food-contact substances already on the market. FDA could do so when it submits its report to the House Appropriations Committee on options to systematically reassess the safety of food additives and obtain information on their use.” Also, “The Commissioner of FDA should direct the agency to track the dates of the last pre- and post-market reviews for all food- contact substances in a way that allows FDA to readily identify substances.” The GAO report is another front in the ongoing effort toward making changes in how FDA regulates food-contact substances. Or, maybe it’s better to describe it as another potential legal burden for plastics in food packaging. Together with recent state government actions against substances found in plastics, notably the model law banning PFAS and phthalates that is in the process of being adopted in multiple states, and California’s onerous law against many single-use plastics, it appears that plastics in food packaging are facing significant headwinds from many sources. Yet, there’s a logical flaw in some of the long-expressed views of NGOs and others. Their view seems to be that, because there are a few examples of substances whose safety is now in question, the whole system is failing and needs to be changed. While some proposed changes make sense, a full overhaul seems like an overreaction. Thankfully, this report isn’t calling for that. When governments consider what they want to do on these issues—as is the case with any public policy choice—a balancing of several considerations will have to take place. It will be up to Congress, FDA and industry stakeholders to hash out the correct balance among the need to protect the public health, available funds and available personnel. We hope they will consider as well whether new requirements really achieve better public protection in light of any new burdens they place on industry. Eric F. Greenberg is Principal Attorney of Eric F. Greenberg, PC, Chicago, with a practice concentrated in food and drug law, packaging law and commercial litigation. Website is www. Ericfgreenbergpc.com. This column is informational only and not legal advice. A version of this column appeared in the December 2022 edition of Packaging World. MORE FOOD REGULATIONS, PLEASE BY ERIC F. GREENBERG www.plasticsengineering.org | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 9BY GEOFF GIORDANO F rom automotive and infrastructure applications to packaging and communications, high-performance polyolefins continue to reshape applications to meet ever-more-demanding performance requirements. Newly engineered resins driven by market demands are turning in impressive performance results, whether in pipe to replace aging infrastructure or in lightweighting vehicles for greater energy efficiency. Circularity, as well, is an ongoing concern that’s become critical to product design, and not just in packaging (see related stories in this issue). Durable goods are routinely being designed for circularity, as are products in healthcare, building and construction, evolving applications like electric vehicles and other markets. Following are examples of innovations in virgin and recycled polyolefins that together are driving the development of materials and applications that allow end-users to meet circular requirements as well as other green mandates. PE-Based Applications Key to the success of any product is collaboration in harnessing a range of technologies to satisfy innovative application needs, something that Dow, for one, stresses with initiatives like its Pack Studios and Pack Vision partnership incubators. The company recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of Pack Studios and opened its newest facility in Freeport, Texas. Dow’s flagship products, including Elvaloy, Nordel, Continuum and Innate, offer a range of polyolefin performance characteristics, particularly durability and light weight, two properties important not only in automotive applications but infrastructure and construction. “It’s hard to define, from our portfolio perspective, what high performance is,” notes Alex Saba, senior marketing director for packaging and specialty plastics at Dow. “You can go from a bare-bones polyethylene that will be used in stock resins, flexible applications or rigid packaging to some copolymers in our portfolio that use completely different manufacturing technologies and comonomers as well. Then you get different performance from those polymers.” Mike White, Dow’s marketing director for growth acceleration and innovation, adds, “Specific metrics will vary a little bit; certainly, we know that polyolefins enable a NEW POLYOLEFINS MEET DEMANDING USE AND SUSTAINABILITY NEEDS COVER STORY Fibremod lightweight PP compounds from Borealis are used to produce the largest thermoplastic tailgate ever for the new Volkswagen Multivan. Courtesy of Volkswagen High-performing grades of recycled and virgin resins combine to boost the circularity of products in diverse markets 10 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | www.plasticsengineering.orglot of weight savings in terms of getting rid of metals and other things that are heavy in an automobile and trying to drive toward better fuel efficiency or even in some cases enabling some design features in newer electric vehicles. Our materials serve a number of purposes along those lines.” Biobased solutions are an emerging part of that portfolio, Saba notes, as customers aggressively seek to lower their carbon footprint. Such solutions have grown to meet the durability requirements of traditional materials in infrastructure, for instance, and opportunities outside packaging are clearly on the horizon. “It all depends on how different value chains look into sustainability and address the challenges they have,” he says. “Our technologies are one ingredient in those applications; our customers will formulate what the application or regulation dictates. When it comes to pipe, I think you have a little bit more of a straightforward situation because you are not really formulating that much; it’s more about the quality and type of polyethylene that you are using. Regulations and building codes play a role in defining what solution will be adopted.” As with its packaging initiatives, Dow’s labs focusing on pipe applications test against various requirements, Saba says. Closing the Loop With CPG (consumer packaged goods) brand owners striving to meet an array of sustainability goals by 2030 and beyond— including more use of post-consumer recyclate (PCR) content—high-performing polyolefins are key to ensuring sustainable materials. Dow’s Revoloop, formally launched last October at PackExpo in Chicago, features 70 percent PCR compounded with 30 percent of a polyolefin resin. This solution is designed expressly for mechanical recycling, a longstanding issue with plastic films. (See June 2022 Plastics Engineering, p. 34, for a technical paper from Dow on the use of Revoloop PCR with virgin PE in collation shrink film.) In experimental trials before the launch, Revoloop was fully scaled for the packaging market at a critical time, with more state mandates requiring higher volumes of post- consumer materials in items like trash liners and industrial films. “Our high-performance resins help enable the incorporation of PCR” in Revoloop, says Dr. Jessica Rogers, associate scientist for packaging and specialty plastics in Dow’s Technical Services and Development Group. Users of Revoloop reportedly get up to 40 percent of PCR in film structures with more homogeneity and consistency while lowering gels, adds Heather Turner, marketing director of packaging and specialty plastics. Revoloop is available in two grades at present: Revoloop 70-LD NA (North America) formulated specifically for collation shrink film, and Revoloop 70-LL NA for applications like heavy-duty shipping sacks, protective packaging and trash can liners. More grades are in development. “We formulated it, so it has minimal impact to the overall packaging application performance properties,” Rogers notes. “Then we can combine it with high- performance resins to design film structures in which you don’t see a major impact from incorporating post-consumer materials.” Internal validations and tests with customers confirmed there were no significant processing issues from using Revoloop, in whatever amounts might be required based on a customer’s overall PCR target. “In applications for our first-generation products, we’re really targeting industrial packaging,” Rogers continues. “A lot of those applications are typically all polyethylene, so one of the benefits is because our PCR is all polyethylene as well, those packages maintain their recyclability by using Revoloop.” Demand for post-consumer content is a challenge since it outstrips supply. In North America, Dow partners with Avangard, which in turn has numerous regional partnerships, to ensure a steady stream of certified recycled content. “Stretch films and collation shrink are high- value; they definitely shouldn’t be put in landfills,” Turner remarks. “We focus a lot on end-application testing of packaging,” Rogers notes. “We prepare packages, then drop them and handle them like a consumer would at the store. When we did development with Revoloop 70-LD, there was no impact on package performance. Then Uponor PEX Pipe Blue is the first pipe manufactured from sustainable cross-linked PE resin from Borealis with ISCC Plus certification. Courtesy of Uponor Dow polyolefins such as Elvaloy, Nordel, Continuum and Innate offer a range of performance characteristics, particularly durability and light weight. Courtesy of Dow www.plasticsengineering.org | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 11when we look at other applications like heavy- duty shipping sacks, protective packaging and trash can liners, we’re seeing, at least to start with, lower percentages of Revoloop being incorporated—20 to 30 percent—and hearing about success in achieving those levels while not impacting performance.” Some of that, Turner adds, is attributable to the higher- performing resins the PCR is structured with. Making the Grade Borealis has developed a portfolio of proprietary technologies offering high- performance polyolefin solutions across a range of industries, says Jozeph van Haastrecht, head of global communications for polyolefins. Van Haastrecht singled out some top performers among Borealis’ portfolio in the following areas: » Infrastructure: Borealis Bornewables grades for cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) pipes based on renewable feedstock. Borealis collaborated with pipe specialist Uponor to enhance the sustainability of PEX pipes, van Haastrecht says. The company says the resulting PEX Pipe Blue is the world’s first pipe portfolio made from PEX with renewable feedstock accredited by ISCC Plus, a sustainability certification system covering supply chains and biobased feedstocks and renewables. Based on Bornewables PE derived from second- generation natural resources, such as waste from pulp production or residue from food processing oils, PEX Pipe Blue products reportedly achieve carbon footprint reductions of up to 90 percent when compared to conventional fossil based PEX pipes, without tradeoffs in product quality, features or performance. “This helps customers in the building and construction industry achieve sustainability targets in plumbing, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning installations,” van Haastrecht says. » Automotive: The Fibremod portfolio reduces vehicle weight for lower carbon footprint. Developed in collaboration with Magna, the Fibremod line of lighter-weight polypropylene compounds allows OEMs and Tier Ones to design sustainable and lightweight solutions for automotive brands and electric fleets. Applications include the thermoplastic tailgate for the new Volkswagen Multivan—one of the largest such parts ever. The latest addition to the portfolio, Fibremod GB416LF, is tailored for use in tailgate carriers and visible structural parts but is also a lightweight option for interior and underhood parts. As a high-flow, 40 percent fiber-reinforced material, it meets stringent emission- and mechanical-performance requirements, as well as providing surface aesthetics. The grade reportedly eliminates the need for secondary surface finishing steps such as painting, thereby enhancing its sustainability and reducing total part cost. » Healthcare: A new soother (i.e., baby pacifier) made with renewably sourced feedstock. Product developer MAM, of Vienna, recently launched its first climate- neutral soother, developed in collaboration with Borealis and resin producer Neste. The rigid part of the MAM Original Pure soother is composed of renewably sourced Bornewables PP, manufactured with Neste RE, a material produced entirely from chemically recycled plastics. Furthermore, the packaging of the soother, which functions as a sterilizer box, is also made using Bornewables resin. This development is an example of how eco-efficient design and the use of circular polyolefins can substantially reduce the carbon footprint of a product while at the same time guaranteeing its safety and superior product quality, Borealis reports. » Sportswear: Shoes made from carbon emissions. Swiss sports brand On, of Zürich, has developed a shoe made from carbon emissions, called Cloudprime. On is said to be the first footwear company to explore carbon emissions as a primary raw material for a midsole made of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) foam, which could also be used in other shoe parts and products. The core of the product is a new foam called CleanCloud, made from carbon emissions and developed in partnership with Borealis, LanzaTech and Technip Energies. “Technology from LanzaTech captures carbon monoxide emitted from industrial sources before being released into the atmosphere,” van Haastrecht says. “Once captured, these emissions enter a patented fermentation process. Thanks to specially selected and naturally occurring bacteria, the carbon rich gas ferments naturally and is converted to ethanol. This fermentation process is similar to that of conventional alcohol production (e.g., in beer brewing). The ethanol is then dehydrated by Technip Energies to create ethylene, which is polymerized by Borealis to become pelletized EVA. the lightweight material that On starts working with to create performance foam for shoes.” The MAM Original Pure pacifier combines renewably sourced Bornewables PP from Borealis with Neste RE consumer recyclate produced entirely from renewable materials. Courtesy of MAM Swiss sportswear maker On developed the first insole made from carbon emissions in partnership with Borealis, LanzaTech and Technip Energies. Courtesy of ON 12 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | www.plasticsengineering.org » Drink containers: Tupperware launched the reusable and recyclable ECO+ product portfolio in 2019. The product line includes a coffee to-go cup made from Bornewables renewable feedstock. “Based on proprietary Borstar nucleation technology, Bornewables RG466MO is a sustainable PP random copolymer with excellent organoleptic properties,” van Haastrecht says. “Using this grade instead of virgin polyolefin enables Tupperware to reduce the carbon footprint of the product line.” Borstar nucleation provides fast cycle times at lower processing temperatures. It achieves excellent organoleptic properties and a high stiffness/toughness balance that allows production of durable and robust cups that maintain temperature and taste. Boosting Circularity Borealis has ambitious circular economy targets. “By 2025, Borealis targets a six- fold increase in share of circular products and solutions, to reach 600 kilotonnes,” van Haastrecht says. “By 2030, the volume of circular products and solutions is set to reach 1.8 million metric tons globally, turning today’s plastics waste into a valuable resource for reuse.” Additionally, the company’s so-called circular cascade model “sets out our holistic approach to achieving circularity, first by supporting our customers to design for eco-efficiency, for reuse and for recycling. Products are used and reused, and, at the end of their useful life, we close the loop, first with mechanical recycling and then with chemical recycling. Finally, the cycle begins again using feedstock and raw materials derived from recycling and other renewable sources.” The company’s circular portfolio will rely heavily on Bornewables polyolefin grades and Borcycle, an evolving recycling technology that converts polyolefin consumer-based waste streams into high-quality raw material for polymerization of new polyolefins. “The technologies and processes that enable these portfolios are continually advancing, and we know there’s a lot further to go, which is why we’re innovating both in-house and by looking out for novel technologies being developed elsewhere,” he remarks. As an example, van Haastrecht says, “We’ve acquired a minority stake in Renasci, of Oostende, Belgium, whose Smart Chain Processing technology sorts household waste and converts it into raw materials with maximum material recovery.” Borealis has also joined the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund. Comprising over 80 organizations, including businesses from across the plastics value chain, the coalition has aligned on a shared vision, which sees the treaty as the key policy mechanism to accelerate progress to a circular economy and end plastics pollution. “We know that we can’t achieve plastics circularity alone,” van Haastrecht concludes, “which is why we work in close collaboration with value chain partners and other value- aligned companies and industry associations to develop integrated, scalable solutions.” World Cup Resin When it comes to big stages, there are few bigger than the World Cup. And big stages require big performance from tough materials. Enter SABIC’s PP 49MK45, an impact copolymer designed to deliver superior resistance to solar irradiation. Given that this year’s World Cup was the first to be held in the Middle East, developers of Al-Janoub Stadium in Qatar, the site of the elimination tournament, had to factor in the region’s unique climate. To produce stadium seating that stands up to the demand, the manufacturing firm Coastal Trading & Engineering Co. chose SABIC’s polypropylene for its flowability, colorability and weatherability. In more traditional use, SABIC’s BX202 linear low-density PE resin was validated by machine maker Japan Steel Works in November on a biaxial film pilot line at JSW’s Technology Center in Hiroshima, Japan (November/ December 2022 Plastics Engineering, p. 45). SABIC’s biaxially oriented PE (BOPE) resin supports packaging film downgauging and materials reduction of up to 50 percent, the supplier notes, resulting in a mono-PE film tailored to recycling in flexible packaging recycling streams. JSW performed extensive trials on SABIC’s LLDPE BX202 to extend its reach in the BOPE film market. The resin is designed for processing on tenter frame BOPE extrusion equipment and on slightly modified equipment for BOPP. “After testing SABIC’s LLDPE BX202 grade in our biaxial film stretching pilot line, we were surprised by the performance of it,” remarks Toshiyuki Ninomiya, vice plant manager of the Hiroshima plant. “Its excellent processability combined with good mechanical properties make this material a great addition to our recommendable materials portfolio for customers and strengthens our position in the BOPE market.” Not only does the resin save material, it fosters higher line speeds and shorter cooling times, SABIC adds. Transportation packaging is another high- demand area in which SABIC shows how hard polyolefins work. On Dec. 13, SABIC and Germany’s Cabka, a supplier of pallets and large containers (U.S. office is in Hazelwood, Mo.), announced a sustainable and reusable foldable container featuring several high- performance PP compounds based on SABIC’s Trucircle portfolio. Developed in less than six months, some of these compounds are unique grades in SABIC’s foam and lightweight portfolio, being halogen- free and flame-retardant, and earning UL94- VO flammability certification. The materials are engineered to combine excellent processability with high compression strength and weight reduction. The resulting CabCube 4840 is the latest addition to Cabka’s portfolio of foldable packaging products. CabCubes are injection molded of 100 percent recycled resins, designed for “extreme reusability,” and provide efficient return logistics by allowing at least four times as many empty containers in a truck, due to their foldable design. Dimensions are 48 x 40 x 48 inches and internal volume is 247 gallons. SABIC and Cabka will continue to collaborate, creating polyolefin compounds containing mechanically recycled content and improving SABIC’s logistical/packaging systems work by replacing wooden pallets and cardboard bins with lightweight, returnable and recyclable plastics alternatives. High organoleptic properties and low carbon footprint are among benefits that Bornewables RG466MO PP copolymer brings to the Tupperware ECO+ coffee cup. Courtesy of Tupperware Resin maker SABIC and pallet producer Cabka collaborated to create next-gen transport packaging, the foldable and reusable CabCube 4840, from high-performance Trucircle PP-based compounds. Courtesy of SABIC www.plasticsengineering.org | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 13BY JENNIFER MARKARIAN F or decades, flexible plastics packaging suppliers have been perfecting the ability to reduce material use by creating ever thinner but still highly functional films to protect packaged goods. Multilayer films that contain different polymers or metal foil layers provide such properties as stiffness or heat resistance and act as barriers to flavor, aroma, oxygen, water and oil. These multimaterial constructions, however, are difficult to recycle. The challenge then is to create thin films that provide functionality as well as recyclability. Recyclability depends on the availability of collection, sorting and reprocessing systems, which vary by country and are still evolving. In the U.S., flexible packaging is not yet widely recyclable in post-consumer curbside collection, but there is a nationwide network of store drop-off collection sites for polyethylene (PE) films. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s How2Recycle label, which includes store drop- off as one option, can be found on many flexible packages in the U.S. that are fabricated of monomaterial PE. The U.S. Flexible Packaging Association’s roadmaps for moving to a circular economy, published in 2021, describe a goal of having recyclable, monomaterial flexible packaging as standard in most applications. Similarly, initiatives in Europe have called for monomaterial PE or polypropylene (PP) solutions. For example, the Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging (CEFLEX), which is a collaboration of companies and organizations representing the flexible packaging value chain, seeks to “redesign multimaterial flexible packaging to monomaterials with existing recycling streams where possible” as well as to “identify solutions and develop capabilities to sort and recycle the remaining fractions.” According to the CEFLEX Designing for a Circular Economy (D4ACE) guidelines, in a monomaterial package, at least 90 percent of the package is made of one polymer type; barrier materials, inks and adhesives may make up the remainder. The U.S. Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) guidelines have a similar 90 percent threshold, but the APR design guide for PE film notes that if a film contains other non-PE polymers, such as ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymers (EVOH) or polyamides (PA), it should be tested to qualify its recyclability with the polyolefin stream. The D4ACE guidelines are a “living resource [that] continues to boost innovation and circularity,” says Alec Walker-Love, workstream consultant for CEFLEX. Ongoing independent testing of materials and structures is focused on filling knowledge gaps, such as the threshold levels at which barrier, ink, adhesive or other components would impact recycling quality. Packaging Structures Polymer and film producers have been making Industry turns to monomaterial packaging for circular economy needs AND ProAmpac’s ProActive Recyclable products include monomaterial films and pouches for dry applications, frozen foods and microwave steaming. Courtesy of ProAmpac 14 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | www.plasticsengineering.orgprogress launching monomaterial structures. One way to improve film properties, including toughness, stiffness and barrier, is to biaxially orient polymer molecules with processing equipment. Biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) or PE (BOPE) are options for polyolefin monomaterial packaging. Machine- direction orientation (MDO) PE, which is stretched in one direction, is also used in packaging. Because polyolefins typically have poor gas barrier, another material is needed to provide protection against oxygen or aroma transmission. Conventional gas barrier solutions have included EVOH, PA or metallization, for example. Very thin coatings of silicon oxide (SiOx) and aluminum oxide (AlOx) are now finding use. Swiss packaging equipment supplier Bobst and its industry partners Dow, Zermatt, Michelman and Sun Chemical, developed a solution called oneBarrier for “recycle-ready” packaging using monomaterial PE-based structures with a thin coating of either AlOx or AluBond aluminum metallization that provides high or ultra-high barrier performance. “Today, high-barrier constructions often use relatively thick layers of either aluminum foil or EVOH on PET substrates. The oneBarrier solution uses very thin functional barrier layers— approximately 40 nm in the case of metal or metal oxide deposition—that allows the package to comply with the goal for at least 90 percent of the construction to be one material,” explains Martin Hill, senior research scientist at Dow. Dow and conversion partner Zermatt developed the multilayer, monomaterial MDO PE film that meets requirements for stiffness and consistency in the orientation process. “Producing very flat, tension-controlled reels of MDO PE film with the correct balance of properties was not trivial,” Hill notes. Converting equipment needed to be modified to handle the challenges of the new material structure, adds Nick Copeland, R&D director of barrier solutions at Bobst. “PET is very stiff, non-extensible and easily metallized compared to monomaterial PE films,” he explains. “Maintaining tension and strain control throughout the equipment and adding thermal management for the coating steps was crucial. In addition, we used a thin primer layer and surface treatment before coating to enable adhesion of the primer to the nonpolar PE films, and metallization to the primer-coated PE substrate.” The oneBarrier PrimeCycle AlOx PE received a certification of recyclability from the Institute Cyclos–HTP (CHI), a German organization that works to classify, assess and certify recyclability using CHI test criteria. Bobst says that PrimeCycle received an EU-wide certification for all European Union countries that have infrastructure for recycling PE. In the U.S., APR guidelines require testing of metallized films to ensure recyclability. Hill says that companies are testing such structures in applications such as snack food packaging using the APR guidelines, with positive results to date. Copeland points out that the collaboration between the different parts of the supply chain was crucial to success. “Brand owner timelines for moving to recyclable, monomaterial packages are short, so we needed to work together to cut development time and create a solution,” he explains. In another recent collaboration, TotalEnergies, Windmöller & Hölscher and Mitsubishi Chemical Group developed a proof-of-concept recyclable high-barrier standup pouch. The laminated structure consists of an MDO PE film and sealant layer from TotalEnergies and less than 2 percent EVOH from Mitsubishi Chemical for barrier properties. The structure meets requirements for water vapor, oxygen and aroma barrier and can replace metallized multimaterial structures, the companies report. New Materials Covestro says its acrylic coating resins can be used as topcoats to improve sealing, toughness, scratch resistance and printability, and as primers for sealing layers or metallization. Covestro and SABIC collaborated to create a heat-resistant coating designed to enable monomaterial BOPE-based film to be used to make and fill standup pouches on form-fill-seal (FFS) lines. Monomaterial BOPE films have lower heat resistance than current multimaterial structures used for FFS, but the coating, which is currently at the proof-of- concept stage, prevents the FFS heat-seal bars from sticking to BOPE-based monomaterial film, says Covestro. ExxonMobil’s new HDZ268 HDPE grade is designed for mono or biaxially oriented PE blown films used as the outer print substrate layer for laminated monomaterial PE packaging films. In FFS converting equipment, the HDPE provides heat resistance, so that the film does not adhere The recyclable Preserve PE pouch with PCR content was developed by Berry Global and Printpack. Courtesy of Berry Global Packaging equipment from Bobst for oneBarrier monomaterial pouch-making includes a coating line (shown) and vacuum metallizer. Courtesy of Bobst www.plasticsengineering.org | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 15to the sealing bars; improved stiffness with lower extensibility, so that the film stretches less and maintains its shape; printability; and optical properties, says Nilesh Savargaonkar, customer application development principal at ExxonMobil. He explains that the HDPE resin is designed for high melt strength, which allows better bubble stability and higher output rates, and low gels, which help avoid web breaks. “Today, most print webs are BOPP or BOPET, with some BOPA. We expect significant demand for replacing these materials with MDO-PE and BOPE for monomaterial designs,” Savargaonkar says. Another new resin family for films, including monomaterial PE packaging films, is ExxonMobil’s Exceed S linear low-density PE, which is intended to simplify film design by meeting converters' requirements for a balance of stiffness and toughness along with improved processability, notably better bubble stability and lower melt pressure. The Exceed S platform was launched in April 2022 with three grades: 0.8, 0.85 and 2.0 melt index (MI). The 2.0 MI was designed for blown film lines that require particularly low melt pressures, and has also been found to process well on cast extrusion lines, explains Tom Miller, Exceed S marketing manager. He says that the performance of the polymers has been validated in real-world applications that include coextruded PE pouches, hot-fill bag-in- box and monomaterial PE laminated pouches, for both the MDO substrate (outer, reverse-printed layer) and the sealant web (inner layer). The new LLDPE grade can be paired with barrier technologies to improve the stiffness and toughness of barrier packaging, says Miller. New Pouch Designs Several film and package producers have launched monomaterial pouches. ProAmpac, of Cincinnati, has a series of films for packaging under its ProActive Sustainability brand that are designed for recycling. “Our approach is to use all PE, which is the most recycled film in North America and Europe,” says Nathan Klettlinger, director of global marketing. ProAmpac is looking to design for recyclability as its primary method of achieving circularity goals. Klettlinger says that monomaterial packaging is best for mechanical recycling and is also an advantage for some advanced or chemical recycling processes, where it can increase yields because it is a cleaner, less contaminated stream without PET. “We are starting to see demand for monomaterial packaging as consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies have made commitments to using recycled content by 2025 or 2030, and consumers have indicated they are interested,” reports Klettlinger. To make flexible packaging a success in recycling, however, will require an inclusive effort throughout the U.S. supply chain. “Changing consumer habits takes time and a supporting infrastructure. We need more collection and more supply chain development of monomaterials, as well as alignment at the national level to support all types of recycling,” says Klettlinger. One of ProAmpac’s redesigned packages is microwaveable bags for frozen vegetables. Conventionally, these packages are multimaterial, with PET on the outside and a low-migration PE on the inside for sealing. ProAmpac developed a monomaterial PE film to meet requirements, including withstanding the pressure of steam during microwaving without becoming too soft, explains Klettlinger. The ProActive Recyclable R-2000S film withstands cold storage and microwave conditions and is prequalified for store dropoff recycling in the U.S. Entour films from Berry Global, Evansville, Ind., include monomaterial PE films designed for recyclability as well as PCR (post-consumer recyclate) content films. One of the first uses was a recyclable granola pouch in 2019, using Entour Shield+, a high-barrier, surface-printed PE film designed for recyclable, unsupported pouches. Entour products include PE print webs and sealant webs for laminated pouches, such as a pouch recently introduced by Berry in collaboration with Printpack, of Atlanta. The Preserve PE PCR recyclable PE pouch uses Entour films and contains 30 percent PCR, which is sourced from a supply that has an FDA Letter of No Objection that makes it suitable for food- contact applications. Entour films are designed for APR and How2Recycle compliance. “An increasing number of brand owners and converters are actively working to transition to recyclable flexible packaging using Berry’s Entour solutions,” says Wesley Porter, business development director of Sustainability and Innovation at Berry Global. For the applications that Berry has developed so far using monomaterial constructions, the company has been able to achieve equivalent or better barrier properties compared to conventional products, but work is ongoing. “We are actively developing additional Entour solutions tailored toward specific applications where barrier requirements exceed the current offering,” Porter explains. Making It Work Although there is a broad drive towards structures with at least 90 percent of one material, researchers say certain other multimaterial structures can also be considered recyclable. A June 2022 publication by BASF and the Cyclos- HTP Institute found that coextruded PE/PA structures are recyclable in PE streams. This conclusion challenges the assumption that PA negatively affects recyclability and is important, said BASF in the report, because both PA6 and PA6/66 are useful as layers in flexible polyolefin packaging for fatty, oxygen-sensitive foods and in medical packaging. The company argues that PA layers provide mechanical strength and barrier properties that enable lightweighting and product protection, which is environmentally beneficial. An additive masterbatch from Ampacet, Tarrytown, N.Y., is formulated to make multilayer PE films containing EVOH or PA 6 as barrier layers compatible with polyolefin recycling streams. ReVive 311A Compatibilizer, which is a blend of functional additives, was recognized by APR as meeting guidelines for recyclability in structures with specific levels of barrier materials and ReVive Compatibilizer. The additive also received a prequalification from How2Recycle for store dropoff, which confirms that packages made under the prequalified conditions may be eligible for the How2Recycle label. “Adding ReVive Compatibilizer means that processors can boost use of PCR/post-industrial recyclate to meet sustainability goals and consumer packaged goods companies can offer packaged foods with superior food preservation as well as good recyclability,” says Doreen Becker, Ampacet’s sustainability director. “The end result benefits consumers and the planet.” The oneBarrier PrimeCycle PE film developed by Bobst and industry partners Dow, Zermatt, Michelman and Sun Chemical provides high barrier in a monomaterial structure. Courtesy of Bobst 16 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | www.plasticsengineering.orgF lexible packaging is a major convenience for consumers since it meets many of their product and food needs, as well as cultural and demographic influences like individuals buying single-serve portions for their own consumption, which is often on the run, rather than larger portions for multi-person households. It’s extremely unlikely, therefore, that such packaging will ever be seriously restricted or banned. Growth prospects for different types of flexible packaging are strong; in just one area, flexible pouches, global growth is forecast to reach $36.7 billion in 2027 from $24.8 billion in 2022, a CAGR of 8.1 percent, according to consultant marketsandmarkets, which is based in Northbrook, Ill. Flexible packaging, consequently, is a major part of the circular economy, where its biggest challenge is recycling owing to the lack of widespread consumer-accessible drop-off and collection points, and reclaim streams geared for recycling film waste. Resin producers, package developers and converters are working on one part of this equation: monomaterial barrier structures that will facilitate recycling. Brand owners and retailers are focusing on ways of improving the collection, sortation and reuse of flexible packaging to make the category more circular. Following are comments on recycling flexible packaging from two people interviewed by Plastics Engineering, whose organizations are involved in this effort. Todd Bukowski is program lead for sustainability initiatives at packaging consultant PTIS LLC, of Ann Arbor, Mich. Dani Diehlman is director of communications at the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA), of Annapolis, Md. They and their organizations are close to much of the work that is underway to improve the sustainability and circularity of flexible packaging. Their observations, therefore, are especially relevant to discussions about the future of flexible packaging. (Comments have been edited for space and clarity.) Todd Bukowski, what trends are you seeing in flexible barrier packaging designs in the U.S.? TB: We definitely see a move toward monomaterial structures. One of the first steps needed to drive expanded collection and sortation is designing for recyclability, which means more raw material suppliers and converters offering monomaterial structures that achieve How2Recycle certification, a standardized labeling system developed by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, Charlottesville, Va. While more collection of flexible packaging is needed, the design component of getting more recyclable structures out in the market is under Flexible packaging’s popularity makes its circularity vital, experts say THE We definitely see a move toward monomaterial structures. One of the first steps needed to drive expanded collection and sortation is designing for recyclability... Todd Bukowski www.plasticsengineering.org | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 17Next >