Spectroscopic Stability Studies of Pressure Sensitive Labels Facestock Made from Recycled Post-Consumer Waste and Agro-Industrial By-Products

Marina Vukoje,Rahela Kulčar,Ana Marošević Dolovski,Katarina Itrić Ivanda

doi:10.3390/f12121703

Abstract

To support circular economy and sustainability, the use of synthetic polymers should be minimized due to their excessive accumulation in the environment and low biodegradation rate which leads to a global waste problem. Thus, the quota of natural resources should be increased, as well as the use of agriculture and industrial waste or by-products as raw materials in industrial processes. Agro-industrial wastes were found to have high cellulose fiber potential which makes them an excellent resource for paper production. This study investigates the influence of artificial aging test on the stability of commercially available fiber based self-adhesive pressure sensitive labels (PSL), in which the facestock is made of 15% agro-industrial byproducts, 40% post-consumer recycled paper and 45% virgin wood pulp and compared to ones made of biobased polyethylene. The results showed that optical brighteners are present in the composition of fiber based PSL. Moreover, the fluorescence and UV-Visible spectroscopy results indicated that by the action of UV irradiation and temperature. The oxidation of cellulose was not found by FTIR spectroscopy, indicating its high stability.

Highlights

There are many drawbacks related to synthetic polymers despite their good mechanical performance, availability, and low price, which are mainly related to their high global consumption and excessive accumulation in the environment, leading to the global waste problem [1]
The limiting circumstance of fiber based pressure sensitive label (PSL), in this case fibers from agricultural waste and post-consumer recycled fibers, is that they cannot be used in applications that require rigid conditions such as high humidity, temperature and UV radiation
PSL, inwhich this case fibers from agricultural and whose excessive accumulation in the environment causes permanent damage. This waste and post-consumer recycled fibers, is that they cannot be used in applications that research has shown that PSL based on agro-industrial and post-consumer recycled fibers require rigid conditions such as high humidity, temperature and UV radiation

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. More than ever, we are witnesses to everyday market and supply chain disruptions due to a problem related to petroleum-based resources and its unstable world price level dictated and dependent solely on political decision makers, which in numerous cases take no consideration of the sustainability repercussions of their unthought decisions. There are many drawbacks related to synthetic polymers despite their good mechanical performance, availability, and low price, which are mainly related to their high global consumption and excessive accumulation in the environment, leading to the global waste problem [1]. Synthetic polymers have a low biodegradation rate, and their recyclability potential is still limited due to a very large number of different compounds on the market

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