Development and redesign of flexible packaging under sustainability criteria

Johnatan Gabriel Bernal-Carrillo; Fernando Sebastián Chiwo-González; Ana del Carmen  Susunaga-Notario; Mayra del Ángel–Monroy; Hugo Arcos-Gutiérrez; Isaías Emmanuel Garduño-Olvera

doi:10.37636/recit.v7n1e253

Authors

Johnatan Gabriel Bernal-Carrillo POSGRADO CIATEQ A.C., Centro de Tecnología Avanzada, Circuito de la Industria Poniente Lote 11, Manzana 3, No. 11, Col. Parque Industrial Ex Hacienda Doña Rosa, Lerma de Villada, 52004, Estado de México, México. https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8942-7776
Fernando Sebastián Chiwo-González CIATEQ A.C., Centro de Tecnología Avanzada, Eje 126 No. 225, San Luis Potosí, 78395, San Luis Potosí, México https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1990-163X
Ana del Carmen Susunaga-Notario CONAHCYT–ICAT Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito escolar s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Col UNAM, CU, Delegación Coyoacán, 04510, Ciudad de México, México. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0528-3719
Mayra del Ángel–Monroy CIATEQ A.C., Centro de Tecnología Avanzada, Eje 126 No. 225, San Luis Potosí, 78395, San Luis Potosí, México. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8205-0949
Hugo Arcos–Gutiérrez CONAHCYT–CIATEQ A.C., Centro de Tecnología Avanzada, Eje 126 No. 225, San Luis Potosí, 78395, San Luis Potosí, México. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4267-4850
Isaías Emmanuel Garduño-Olvera CONAHCYT–CIATEQ A.C., Centro de Tecnología Avanzada, Eje 126 No. 225, San Luis Potosí, 78395, San Luis Potosí, México. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8944-7954

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37636/recit.v7n1e253

Keywords:

Circular economy, Sustainable development, Recyclability, Monomaterial, Flexible packaging

Abstract

The circular economy and sustainable development are critical issues today, given the growing environmental pollution caused by solid waste, especially plastics. Furthermore, plastic waste has raised significant social concerns and alerted plastic product designers. Therefore, developing or redesigning plastic products in the flexible packaging industry is imperative to ensure their recyclability at the end of their life cycle. It is necessary to ensure that the mechanical and barrier properties of the ecological plastic packaging remain intact for specific uses. The current study aims to redesign flexible packaging, focusing on providing the mechanical and barrier properties of the packaging suitable for food industry applications, thus offering a solution through new design proposals that allow the development of sustainable and flexible packaging, emphasizing material reduction and recyclability. This study assessed and compared the mechanical properties of the proposed packaging with those of existing products. The results demonstrated the feasibility of reducing plastic film thickness or eliminating layers in a tri-laminated structure and transitioning to a bi-laminated structure. This adjustment did not compromise the mechanical and barrier properties; the oxygen barrier remained at 35.39 cc/m²*day, and the humidity stood at 0.57 mg/m²*day. This investigation led to a 26.48% reduction in the raw material consumption of laminated coils and 12.68% in Doypack type packaging used in food applications. Consequently, the decreased material usage and adoption of monomaterial structures significantly minimized the environmental impact of plastic waste contamination due to the possibility of mechanically recycling the final product.

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Author Biography

Ana del Carmen Susunaga-Notario, CONAHCYT–ICAT Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito escolar s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Col UNAM, CU, Delegación Coyoacán, 04510, Ciudad de México, México.

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