Evaluation of OPLA Polymers with Existing PET and OPS forFresh Food Service Containers

摘要

As consumers are becoming more aware of municipal waste problems andrndemand the use of bio-friendly packaging materials, the selection of food packagingrnpolymers not only depends on the evaluation of standard properties, but also on thernrecyclability and sustainability of these polymers. As a consequence, Poly(lactide)rn(PLA) polymers have garnered increasing attention the last few years as food packagingrnmaterials because they can be obtained from renewable resources; their productionrnconsumes quantities of carbon dioxide; they can be recyclable and compostable; and alsorntheir physical and mechanical properties can be tailored through polymer architecture.rnPLA is becoming a growing alternative as a green food packaging material.rnPLA's optical, physical, and mechanical properties have been compared to thosernof polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) although studies showing thernperformance of PLA, PS and PET plastics containers are scarce. The purpose of thisrnstudy was to investigate and to compare the role of PLA on package sustainability for thernfood service industry. Two of the commonly used materials to make containers tornpackage fresh food, PET and oriented polystyrene (OPS), were compared with orientedrnPLA (OPLA) and OPLA with 40% recycled content from the industrial trimmingrnprocess. The recycled PLA provides an opportunity for full material utilization andrnlowers cost. This study involved a number of tests to quantify the physical, mechanical,rnbarrier, and compatibility properties that would affect the selection criteria for containersrnto be used for food service applications.rnBased on the data collected, OPLA, OPS, and PET container performances werernevaluated. Exposure of OPS, PET and OPLA to olive oil and weak and strong acidsrnshows a minimal reduction in the performance of the OPLA, PET, and OPS containers.rnAt ambient temperature, PET has the highest impact resistance followed by OPLA andrnOPS. The design and shape affect the overall container integrity. In terms of barrierrnproperties, PET shows the highest oxygen barrier followed by OPLA, OPLA 40%rnrecycled content, and OPS. Thus, OPLA and OPLA with 40% recycled content can bernused for fresh food applications as well as OPS and PET, and in many situations itrnperforms better than OPS and PET.