Lightweight and green packaging innovation is a focus for the packaging industry to balance ecological, economic and social needs. To cater for the demand of the packaging industry’s development, Chinaplas 2017 will bring to packaging professionals new technologies, materials and solutions from over the world to facilitate the migration towards lightweighting and sustainability.
Chinaplas 2017 will be held in China Import and Export Fair Complex, Pazhou, Guangzhou, May 16 – 19, 2017. It will feature ‘intelligent manufacturing, high-tech materials and green solutions’ with advanced plastics machinery, materials and technologies from over 3,300 renowned suppliers.
Lightweight plastic packaging requires less resin in the extrusion moulding process, which is not only environmentally friendly, but also able to effectively reduce the cost of materials. Visitors will find a vast variety of new materials that facilitate to lightweight packaging from leading suppliers such as Dow and Urola.
The enhanced expanded polyethylene (EPE) foam solution developed by Dow gives high level of cushion performance and abuse resistance. With tailored LDPE/LLDPE blends and exceptional processability, this new foam solution achieves new levels of down weighting and downgauging. Savings up to 15 per cent can be made on raw material costs in unit packaging while providing the same or better protective performance.
In addition, Urola will show off a Rotary extrusion blown moulding machine which can produce bottles from HDPE (High Density Polyethylene). Bottles produced have a very high consistency, with weight reduction averaging to 5 per cent and energy consumption decreased by 30 per cent. This technology produces minimum material wastes and occupies very little floor space without compromise in surface finish, material distribution and consistency.
With the growth in demand for domestic food packaging and agricultural films, the packaging industry needs a variety of high-performing and specialised packaging solutions, such as those that can maintain freshness of perishable food and dairy products and extend shelf-lives of products. This trend calls for high barrier property materials and advanced film manufacturing technologies.
BYK will be launching its newly-developed unique additive BYKO2BLOCK-1200 at Chinaplas. This additive is based on platelet-forming modified clay and was developed especially for use in food packaging films. The separated platelets are distributed equally in the polymer matrix, thereby reducing the permeability to gases and water vapour. A small quantity of the additive can lead to a significant improvement in the barrier property while maintaining stable mechanical properties and transparency. Moreover, it can also improve heat deformability.
The POD technology, developed by Macchi Spa, which will be launched in Chinaplas 2017, allows for the production of better, thinner, stronger and cheaper multi-layer PE films. The five-layer structure materials have excellent optical performance and can improve appearance and sealing properties. The secondary sandwich layer materials can provide higher mechanical strength and allow easy downgauging.
Chinese packaging pouches
Featuring regenerative raw materials instead of petroleum, biodegradable plastics have, within a short period, become the alternative for traditional plastics in the quest towards sustainable and green packaging. Biodegradable plastics are mainly used in plastic packaging film, agricultural film, disposable plastic bags and disposable plastic tableware; with increasing demands, biodegradable plastics have promising prospects. Chinaplas 2017 will showcase some significant advances in this field.
Taikang POF (polyolefin) heat shrink films, developed by Shandong Taikang Biodegradable Packing Materials will debut in the upcoming Chinaplas. It is currently one of the most advanced environmental friendly plastic packaging materials with higher tearing sound toughness and high anti-impact strength.
Reverdia will showcase its biosuccinium succinic acid in Chinaplas 2017. Biosuccinium is the first non-fossil feedstock derived chemical building block that allows customers in the chemical industry to choose a bio-based alternative with a lower eco-footprint for a broad range of applications, from packaging to footwear.
Poly propylene carbonate (PPC), developed by Jilin Boda Oriental New Material, is a biodegradable plastic resin of recycled greenhouse gas CO2, and is prepared by polymerisation using carbon dioxide and propylene oxide. It can find uses in a wide variety of plastic markets to replace traditional resins such as PE, PP and PA, providing a new and comprehensive solution to sustainability and plastic pollution worldwide.