Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in the Americas and one of the world's leading biopolymer producers, has forged a partnership with Antilhas Flexíveis, a Brazilian company renowned for its innovations in packaging, for the development of monomaterial stand-up pouch packaging during Feiplastic 2019, held from April 22 to 26 at Expo Center Norte, in São Paulo city.
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"The transformation from the Linear Economy to the Circular Economy will demand developments such as this packaging, which considered sustainability in each phase of its production cycle. We're excited to present this solution during Feiplastic to show that technology is a major ally in the development of products that facilitate recycling while remaining competitive," said Yuri Tomina, polyethylene market development manager at Braskem.
Monomaterial packaging, which is packaging made from a single raw material, supports the plastics recycling chain by facilitating the material picking process. According to Tomina, Braskem's commitment to foster the Circular Economy includes initiatives to promote a sustainable cycle in the plastics chain, which include working with partners to design products that increase the efficiency of plastics recycling and the material's return to the chain.
Fabio Sant'ana, a specialist on Braskem's Polyethylene Market Development team, explained that the company has joined forces with Antilhas Flexíveis to arrive at just such a solution. "Made entirely from polyethylene, the product is highly recyclable because it is not made from a mix of raw materials. Its recycling creates a post-consumer resin of higher quality that consequently has a broader market of potential applications," he said.
The production of stand-up pouch packaging, which remains upright without any encasing materials, from pure polyethylene, without lamination, was achieved using electron beam (EB) technology. The innovative external printing process using electron beam curing is patented exclusively by Antilhas.
"The process ensures superior print quality with the same gloss as laminated materials and can handle external finishings with sensory appeal. The technology features other benefits, such as a process that enables reductions of up to 50% in electricity consumption without compromising the color quality or gloss of the final material, and reductions of up to 95% in volatile organic compounds, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions," said Rodrigo Massini, executive manager at Antilhas Flexíveis.
The monomaterial stand-up pouch packaging, which already is available in the market, has applications in the cosmetics and food industries. Visitors at Feiplastic could see prototypes at Braskem's booth, which also has examples of products that already use recycled monomaterial packaging which identify that the raw material used is 100% derived from recycled polyethylene.
"We're thrilled to be showcasing this complete solution to our clients, which includes demonstrations of this technological development applied to solutions and the quality of the post-consumer products resulting from this innovation," said Sant'ana.
About Antilhas
Antilhas is a leading manufacturer of paper, cardboard and flexible plastic packaging. For over 30 years, it has been dedicated to bringing innovative solutions to market. Antilhas Embalagens' flexible business unit holds the seal FSSC 22000- Food Safety System Certification. With a client portfolio boasting major manufacturers, such as Suzano, Braskem, Whirlpool, Fricon, Weber Saint-Gobain, Cimentos Elizabeth and others, Antilhas Flexíveis' product highlights include, in addition to the printing process using Gelflex-EB® ink, Stretch Hood, an extruded polyethylene (PE) film used for unitizing packaging in transport.
About Braskem
With a human-oriented global vision of the future, the 8,000 Team Members of Braskem strive to create sustainable solutions in chemistry and plastics. Braskem is the largest resin producer in the Americas, with annual production of 20 million tons, including chemical products and basic petrochemicals, and sales of R$50 billion in 2017. Braskem exports to clients in approximately 100 countries and operates 41 industrial units, which are located in Brazil, United States, Germany and Mexico, the latter in partnership with the Mexican company Idesa.
