Evaluation of the Terms of Use of Recycled Polymer Packaging Co-Extruded

Abstract

Waste recycling has been stepped up around the world to enhance the quality of the recycled product and provide greater efficiency in the production system. The increasing use of polymers has led to increasingly multiple uses of these materials due to their high degradation time. The polyethylene used in plastic co-extruded with the use of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) has been a major advantage in prolonging the useful cycle of the final product. Thus the technique of co-extrusion has become very attractive in the packaging industry because it enables the design of multi-layer structures. Thus, this work aims at assessing the conditions of use of recycled material in packaging for co-extruded with application properties of a biomaterial. The packages used in this study are composed percentages of high density polyethylene (HDPE) recycled, virgin polyethylene and gas barrier (EVOH), where they were subjected to 50 ° C in an oven stabilized at room temperature as well as the approximately 23 ° C, conditioned in the laboratory. The packages were characterized by spectroscopy techniques in the Region of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Surface Tension and optical microscopy (OM). With the technique, FTIR was possible to verify the presence of characteristic bands of polyethylene. As for the measures surface tension was possible to observe an increase in the wettability of containers subjected to high temperature. It was also possible to see through the optical microscope the difference of packaging is compounded by the EVOH. The results presented so far do not suggest an indication of the occurrence of rust on packaging, allowing an indication of use.