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Already centuries and thousands of years ago, humans have come with ingenious techniques aiming at keeping food fresh and tasty. One of these was (and still is) simply wrapping your food; Japanese dwellers used barks and bamboo leaves for that purpose. Air-tight bottles/cans, invented around 1850s, made it possible to store food for much longer.
For modern needs, a clever choice would be SoarnoL™, an EVOH material developed by the researchers from Japan's NIPPON GOHSEI. This innovative transparent polymer enables full protection against oxygen to fight mold proliferation. The composition of SoarnoL™ is principally C-O-H; no toxic gases are formed in case the resin is burned. Also, the material's combustion heat is twice lower than for PE, which is quite safe from the environmental viewpoint.
The principal applications of the new EVOH material are overviewed below.
Packaging of meat products
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| Molecular Structure of "Soarnol™ |
Meat packaging is obviously crucial, especially for fresh meat products that are highly perishable. Using SoarnoL™ to create a barrier layer extends shelf life of those drastically. Numerous SoarnoL™ grades are available in order to comply with meat manufacturers' requirements that became more stringent over the last years.
SoarnoL™ boasts excellent barrier properties against helium, oxygen, nitrogen, and CO2. These gases are popular as part of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).
Bag-in-Box
Bag-in-Box (BiB) is a flexible container for transporting and storing liquids. Bag-in-box packaging is great for water, wine, juice, ketchup, etc. It is cost efficient, requires less resin, is easy to print on and overall sustainable.
A conventional BiB system includes two film grades: internal single-layer PE bag and external coextruded multilayer film with a barrier layer made of SoarnoL™. In a wine box, for example, this EVOH material protects the contents from oxidation while eliminating any risk of spoilage or cork taint.
Packaging for baby food
Nowadays, SoarnoL™ vastly replaces replacing glass and metal in FFS baby food packaging. This resin is lightweight, unbreakable, and keeps the food reliably protected from oxydation, UV light and moisture.
One typical packaging structure is PP/SoarnoL™/PP. It is widely used in microwavable or pasteurisable applications. Thanks to this particular packaging structure, shelf life of food products is extended while preserving all the flavor.
Agricultural films
NIPPON GOHSEI Europe has collaborated with the Italian University of Turin for seven years in order to prove that the increased oxygen barrier capabilities of a coextruded film with a special-grade SoarnoL™ do improve forage quality in bales and silos, as well as long-term grass storage. The benefits include:
• Better dry matter conservation
• More energy in the forage
• Less mycotoxins and other pathogens, thus rarer animal health issues
Bottles and tubes
Since mid-1970s, SoarnoL™ has been used for barrier protection in mayonnaise bottles, increasing shelf life drastically. Today, this EVOH material is used to make bottles for various other products.
It is also in demand when it comes to skin care products, toothpaste, cosmetics and many more. SoarnoL™ prevents oxidation of oils and chemicals in cosmetics and helps preserving aromatic ingredients as well.
Pipes
Floor heating pipes are nowadays more and more often made of plastics. Though, conventional single-layer pipes made of XPE, PB or PP are penetrable to oxygen, which causes corrosion of metallic system units such as pumps.
A number of SoarnoL pipe grades were created for increased resistance to deterioration when used in hot water systems. This complies with the German DIN 4726 standard.
Fuel tanks
In recent years, lightweight, rustproof and complex-shape fuel tanks are considered as added-value car components. HDPE is used as the primary material, but it cannot protect alone against the spread of volatile gasoline in the outside air. SoarnoL™ boasts increased gasoline barrier properties, contributing thus to both automotive R&D and sustainability of car production.
