Polyolefins Industry
Anirban Bhar; Akshay Kumar Dey; Deepshikha Datta; Oliva Roy; Soumyadeep Routh; Arindam Mandal; Biswajit Kamila
Abstract
The global packaging industry is primarily influenced by polyolefinic materials, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which offer a combination of durability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. These materials have transformed modern packaging through their lightweight offerings for food, ...
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The global packaging industry is primarily influenced by polyolefinic materials, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which offer a combination of durability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. These materials have transformed modern packaging through their lightweight offerings for food, medical, and industrial uses. The widespread employment of non-biodegradable plastics poses substantial challenges in waste management due to their persistent presence and significant contribution to plastic pollution. This review examines the characteristics, applications, and ecological implications of polyolefins, with a particular focus on their importance in packaging. This paper examines recent advancements in biodegradable alternatives and chemical recycling methods, aiming to address the environmental challenges presented by plastic waste. Integrating natural fillers into polyolefin composites can boost biodegradability without compromising functionality. The review highlights the importance of a circular economy approach, which emphasizes sustainable practices for transforming polyolefin waste into valuable resources. This analysis explores the advantages and disadvantages of polyolefins to guide future research and sustainable packaging policy.
Structure and property relationship
Buncha Suksut; Pathamanat Poonkasem; Sirirat Prasittinawa; Patcharapon Somdee
Abstract
Composites of polypropylene (PP) and calcium lactate (CL) with a constant weight percentage of 60% and 40%, respectively, were compounded with 3, 5 and 7 phr of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) plasticizer using an internal mixer. The testing samples were prepared using an injection molding technique. The ...
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Composites of polypropylene (PP) and calcium lactate (CL) with a constant weight percentage of 60% and 40%, respectively, were compounded with 3, 5 and 7 phr of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) plasticizer using an internal mixer. The testing samples were prepared using an injection molding technique. The effects of the mold temperature and annealing treatment on the morphological and mechanical properties of PP-based composites using polarized optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), universal testing machines (UTM), and impact tester were performed. The results showed a remarkable increase in the elongation-at-break and impact strength, but a noticeable decrease in tensile strength and stiffness with increasing ESO contents. The experimental results also indicated that the higher mold temperature significantly improved the tensile strength and stiffness of samples due to an increase in spherulite size for neat PP, PP/CL composite and PP/CL composite with 3 phr of ESO. Additionally, annealing treatment enhanced the tensile and impact strengths of both neat PP and PP/CL composite, which was attributed to the increase in the crystal perfection and degree of crystallinity. These findings suggested that mechanical improvements using high mold temperature and annealing treatment were confined to the incorporation of an ESO plasticizer. The resulting performance of the plasticized PP composites after thermal treatment was described by two possibilities: the loss in the adhesion between the components and the migration of plasticizer.
Catalysis
Maria Carmela Sacchi; Simona Losio; Paola Stagnaro; Giorgio Mancini; Luca Boragno; Stefano Menichetti; Caterina Viglianisi; Sara Limbo
Abstract
Some innovative solutions are proposed to the problem of the unavoidable physical migration of antioxidants from plastic films for packaging, in order to minimize the consequent undesirable effect of food contamination. In previous exploratory tests, phenolic antioxidant co-units were achieved and incorporated ...
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Some innovative solutions are proposed to the problem of the unavoidable physical migration of antioxidants from plastic films for packaging, in order to minimize the consequent undesirable effect of food contamination. In previous exploratory tests, phenolic antioxidant co-units were achieved and incorporated into polyethylene chain and now the work is extended to create new families of polymeric additives properly designed for specific material. An effective route was designed to synthesize the functionalized comonomer, analogues of commercial 2,6-t-butyl-4-methoxy-phenol (BHA), containing eight methylene units as spacer between the aromatic ring and the polymerizable olefinic double bond (C8). Ethylene/1-hexene/C8 terpolymers, with 1-hexene concentration in the typical range found in commercial polyethylene grades, and propylene/C8 copolymers with microstructure similar to those of commercial packaging polypropylenes were produced. A careful 13C NMR study was conducted for the precise determination of the functionalized comonomer content on all terpolymer and copolymer samples. The samples melt blended with additive-free commercial LDPE and PP matrices, individually, were analyzed in terms of thermal and thermo-oxidative stability and compared with LDPE and PP films containing the traditional BHA additive analogue. The results demonstrate that, in either way, the polymeric additives exert a very positive effect on the degradation temperature of the polymeric matrices, retarding the thermo-oxidative sequence of reaction.
