Is the barrier property of a single material soft bag poor?

The potato chip bags, spicy strips, beef jerky we saw in the supermarket.
.
.
almost all use flexible packaging, and even the mask bags are our flexible packaging world
.

However, it is not easy to make an excellent flexible packaging.
Different contents require packaging to have different "specific" functions:

1.
Since oxygen can cause oxidative deterioration of fats and proteins, it must have excellent ability to block oxygen;

2.
Due to the entry or volatilization of water vapor, the taste of food may change, and it must have excellent water vapor barrier ability;

3.
In order to prevent the entry of peculiar smells or the volatilization of aromas and ensure the original taste of food, it must have excellent ability to block aromas;

4.
In order to meet the needs of sealing and preservation, it must have good heat sealing performance;

5.
In order to meet the requirements of sterilization and prevent the existence of microorganisms from destroying food, it must have a certain heat resistance;

6.
For the needs of beautiful decoration and necessary information of goods, there must be good printability;

7.
In order to protect food and meet the needs of handling and transportation, it needs to have strong mechanical properties;

8.
Other requirements for optical performance
.

The traditional multi-layer material composite soft bag has good high barrier properties, but cannot be recycled
.
Single material (PP/PET/PE) construction is a fully recyclable solution, but one of the biggest technical difficulties is heat resistance and barrier properties
.

At present, the industry is solving the heat resistance problem of single-material packaging and bag making through the improvement of raw material resin performance and processing technology
.

As for the barrier properties of single-material soft bags, many innovative solutions have emerged
.

Unilever Sachet Set Oxygen and Water Vapor Barrier Properties

Unilever Japan and Toppan (Toppan Printing Co.
, Ltd.
) have jointly developed a Lux Luminique sachet set, a pouch->
.

Unilever and Toppan (Toppan Printing Co.
, Ltd.
) finally selected this material, which comes from Toppan Printing's GL Barrier range of films, after extensive quality testing
.

Traditional single-use plastic bag packaging combines a PET substrate with materials such as aluminum and polyethylene
.
However, the biggest feature of this single material PET soft bag is the use of PET grade GL film, which is a vapor-deposited transparent barrier film in the GL barrier series, which can be combined with PET sealant
.

The manufacturing method and material ensure strong oxygen and water vapor barrier properties, have low adsorption capacity, can prevent the loss of aroma and quality, and increase the shelf life of the product
.

The full PET construction of the Lux Luminique sachet set not only improves the recyclability of the pouch, but the removal of the aluminum foil can reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 25% during the packaging manufacturing process
.

Mondi replaces aluminum foil with innovative high-barrier film

Mondi, a global manufacturer of advanced packaging, has launched RetretTouch recyclable single-material retort packaging for a range of food and wet pet foods
.

Typically, moist or semi-moist foods are heat-treated in steam or hot water retort packaging containers to achieve sterilization, so these foods require retort packaging
.

These packages use aluminum foil as a barrier layer, which is difficult to recycle
.
Mondi has developed innovative high-barrier films to replace aluminum foils that maintain high temperatures during distillation and enable shorter processing times
.
The new single-material retort packaging is fully recyclable, offering a special shelf life for single-material packaging solutions, reducing potential food waste
.

Mondi spent more than two years researching and testing the product to ensure critical application requirements were met
.
The launch of RetortTouch recyclable products as part of its sustainability commitment is another step Mondi has taken towards its goal
.

Bobst AlOx Barrier and Solvent Free Adhesive Solutions

Swiss packaging equipment and service provider BOBST launched its "2.
0 generation" high-barrier flexible packaging solution in the second half of this year, aiming to replace multi-material packaging structures with a single-material structure, while improving processability and barrier properties.
and optical performance to meet the requirements of multiple applications
.

"Generation 2.
0" includes new ultra-high and high-barrier all-polypropylene laminate bags that allow the use of a clear AlOx (alumina) barrier layer, as well as a solvent-free barrier adhesive/topcoat
.
All polypropylene laminated bags can also be printed using UV flexo printing with digital inkjet printing
.

In addition, "Generation 2.
0" also includes all-low density polyethylene laminated bags and MDO-PE laminated bags
.
MDO-PE laminate bags can be used with high barrier solventless adhesives for excellent barrier properties
.

The low density polyethylene laminated bag is the raw material PE resin provided by Dow Company
.

EMSUR full PE and PP structure to accommodate multiple product types

Flexible packaging group EMSUR has launched the EM Full RFlex series of packaging, based on PE and PP single material substrates, thus replacing traditional multiple structures, providing packaging with excellent barrier and sealing properties
.

Targeting multiple FMCG categories, including snacks, confectionery, coffee and tea, fresh and processed foods, and home and personal care, the new laminated bags are designed to improve recyclability and food preservation
.

In addition, the flexible packaging range will be available in clear and printed films, with different gloss and matte finishes, suitable for gravure and flexo printing
.

After reading so many single-material structure packaging, do you feel "tall"? High barrier properties originally played such an important role
.

At present, PVA-coated barrier films and EVOH barrier layers are widely used in a single environmental protection structure.
For some dry foods and daily chemicals, the water and oxygen barrier properties are basically comparable to traditional multi-material packaging, but the shelf life of food will be longer than conventional ones.
The composite packaging is shorter, and the cost is also more than 20% to 30% higher than that of ordinary packaging
.

As for the problems of oil resistance, light resistance, chemical resistance, etc.
, the barrier effect of single-structure soft bags is still limited, so it is difficult to be widely used in all food packaging at present
.

Despite this, food and beverage brand owners and packaging material companies are very enthusiastic about the development of single material, and continue to break through the technical bottleneck of single material.
It is believed that under the "dual carbon" goal and sustainable development, single material packaging will be widely used in the future.

.