Aseptic Carton Research Articles

Life cycle assessment of beverage packaging in Thailand: Implications from modeling choices and alternative improvement policies

Life Cycle Assessment of four important beverage packaging types in Thailand —aluminum cans, aseptic cartons, polyethylene terephthalate and glass bottles— applying a spatially differentiated life cycle impact assessment method is carried out to assess the environmental burdens and implications from modeling choices and alternative improvement policies. Packaging wastes are not recycled as high as the demand in Thailand; so the end-of-life recycling model is recommended for promoting recycling and mitigating packaging waste management issues. With the subsequent improvement in the recycling rates, increasing the usage of recycled materials becomes a crucial issue for the raw material acquisition and manufacturing phase, for which the recycled content model is recommended. Our findings recommend prioritizing policies for increasing both end-of-life recycling and recycled content to enhance the environmental sustainability of beverage packaging. Promotion of electrification in manufacturing is not recommended until the electricity is produced from renewable sources.

Design of Experiment Applied in the Chemical Separation Process of Plastic and Aluminum Present in Aseptic Carton Packages

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the separation of polyethylene and aluminum residue layers from Tetra Pak post-consumer packaging. This was achieved by facilitating a spontaneous reaction between aluminum and water, with the assistance of NaOH as a catalyst. Theoretical Framework: Aseptic carton packaging is widely recognized as safe and high-quality in the food and beverage industry. This type of packaging offers several properties, acting as a barrier against gases, light, loss of flavor, and water vapor while providing shape and flexibility. These characteristics are achieved by combining plastic, paper, and aluminum. Despite the significant advantages of multilayer films, recycling this material presents challenges. Methodology: During the initial planning phase, a 26-2 fractional factorial experiment was conducted to evaluate 6 different process variables: agitation (rpm), pre-treatment, NaCl concentration (g/L), time (minutes), temperature (°C), and NaOH concentration (mol/L). Subsequently, a second experimental design called the Design Central Composite (DCC) was implemented. The results indicated that only temperature and time remained statistically significant. Results and Discussion: Based on the experimental results, were able to identify the most effective conditions for separating polyethylene and aluminum waste from Tetra Pak post-consumer packaging using response surfaces an optimal region can be defined with a minimum temperature of 50°C, a minimum time of 30 minutes, and a minimum NaOH concentration of 3 mol/L. Originality/Value: This study adds to the existing literature by examining the application of experimental planning techniques in the chemical separation process of plastic and aluminum in Tetra Pak® packaging through two consecutive experimental plans.

Human exposure to microplastics via the consumption of nonalcoholic beverages in various packaging materials: The case of Hong Kong

There is growing concern over microplastics in food and beverages, with potential implications for human health. However, little is known about microplastics in nonwater, nonalcoholic packaged beverages. This study addresses this research gap by implementing a dual-method approach that includes laboratory analysis to quantify microplastics in 50 packaged nonalcoholic beverages sold in Hong Kong, coupled with a beverage frequency questionnaire survey to provide a more accurate estimate of microplastic intake from these beverages. The beverages analysed spanned five categories–juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas, soda waters, soft drinks, and sports and energy drinks–and were packaged in four forms: aluminium cans, aseptic cartons, plastic bottles and glass bottles. The results showed that all beverage samples contained microplastics, with an average abundance of 42.1 ± 41.2 n/L (interquartile range [IQR]: 17.8–54.1 n/L), and these particles were predominantly smaller than 150 µm in size. Additionally, based on an annual beverage consumption rate of 157.3 ± 209.7 L/capita (IQR: 42.9–183.0 L/capita), it is estimated that Hong Kong adults ingest approximately 6200 microplastics per capita each year. The potential primary sources of these microplastics are atmospheric fallout and the packaging materials that endure mechanical stresses during the manufacturing and transportation of beverages. Compared to other known routes of exposure, including air, seafood, sugar, salt and honey, packaged nonalcoholic beverages present a comparable level of microplastic exposure, being lower than the first three but higher than the latter two. Nevertheless, the high prevalence of smaller microplastics in the samples is concerning. This study is considered to be important for food safety and human health, as it not only raises public awareness about microplastic contamination in packaged beverages but also serves as a call to action for the beverage industry to adopt more robust safety measures and for policymakers to revise packaging standards to reduce microplastic contamination and safeguard public health.

Low-cost triboelectric nanogenerator based on aseptic carton package

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are efficient systems that convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. Based on contact electrification, an emerging powerful tool in energy harvesting technologies, most TENGs are constructed using expensive materials (e.g. gold and platinum) and costly processes. Aseptic carton packages (ACP) are plastic-laminated materials basically composed of paperboard, polyethylene and aluminum, but having all parts required for a TENG device: dielectric inductor and metal. Using the concept implicit in the triboelectric series where hydrophilic materials acquire a positive net charge while hydrophobic ones develop negative net charge upon contact, ACP was used as the main component of a sandwich-type triboelectric nanogenerator (ACP-TENG). Electrostatic potential mapping confirmed that pristine polyethylene is a negative charge inductor while after its oxidation develops an excess positive charge. Potentials as high as 200 V are reached with ACP-TENG during mechanical loads, charging a 10 μF capacitor to 3.5 V in less than 10 min. Continuous open-circuit voltage of roughly 80 V is developed under pressure-relaxation cycles at 1.8 Hz, reaching an output peak current of ∼400 nA. The efficiency of ACP-TENG is comparable to nanoengineered devices, but costing only a fraction of them. We believe that the ACP-TENG reported here is a reliable way to construct low-cost energy harvesting devices and it can be used as an environmentally friendly destination/solution for food packaging.

An economic and environmental analysis of wine packaging systems in Italy: A life cycle (LC) approach.

The main aim of this study was to perform a combined life cycle assessment and life cycle costing of the most used wine packaging systems in Italy. Packaging plays a key role in food and beverage production and supply chain, but the increasing volume of packaging used causes many environmental concerns. The wine sector is no exception, especially in Italy that is the largest producer in the world. Eight packaging alternatives were compared in environmental and economic terms assuming a functional unit of three litres and a cradle to grave approach: one aseptic carton system, two bag-in-box systems, two PET bottle systems, and three glass bottle systems. The results were analysed with an eco-efficiency portfolio approach. There was consistency between the LCA and LCC results for most of the packaging systems. From both the environmental and economical point of views, aseptic cartons and bag-in-box systems were the most sustainable alternatives, while the glass systems had the worst global performances due to the high weight and consequent huge energy consumption during bottle production. The size of the containers was the key factor that most affected the results both in environmental and economic terms.

The Effect of Calendering Treatment on the Friction Coefficient of Recycled Linerboard from Aseptic Carton

Recently, when a paper mill in Thailand produced linerboard by mixing recycled OCC pulp with recycled pulp from aseptic cartons, the coefficient of friction decreased rapidly as the mixing ratio of pulp from aseptic cartons increased. The study was carried out to investigate the main causes of reduced coefficient of friction of recycled linerboard made by blending aseptic cartons and OCC. Three types of stock from the actual site were used for analysis: aseptic carton, old corrugated containers (OCC) and 50:50 blended stock. Handsheets were made from these three stocks by using a square handsheet former and the effect of machine calendering treatment on the handsheet was analyzed to investigate the relationship between the coefficient of friction and the surface roughness of the handsheet. Regardless of the type of pulp, calendering reduced the surface roughness of paper and the coefficient of friction as well. However, when comparing papers of different types of pulp, simply having a lower surface roughness than other papers did not mean that the coefficient of friction is lower. In the case of paper made from OCC mixed with aseptic carton pulp, the surface friction was sharply lowered by calendering treatment. It was judged that calendering exacerbated the problem of a sharp decrease in coefficient of friction according to the increase of mixing ratio of aseptic carton pulp. The relationship between friction and actual contact area of handsheets was discussed.

The Effect of Fines on the Change of the Friction Coefficient of Recycled Linerboard during Calendering Treatment

When linerboard is manufactured by blending recycled OCC pulp with recycled pulp from aseptic carton, the results reported that factors other than surface roughness are related to the coefficient of friction. Calendering exacerbated the problem of a sharp decrease in coefficient of friction according to the mixing of aseptic carton pulp. Therefore, we tried to understand the aforementioned changes in the coefficient of friction by evaluating the effect of the surface residue of fines derived from aseptic carton on the sliding angle and surface roughness of aseptic carton-based recycled paper. Handsheets were made from recycled pulp extracted from aseptic cartons and then coated with fines slurries at 3% and 5% concentrations. It was confirmed that the higher the proportion of recycled pulp fines used in handsheet coating, the lower is the coefficient of friction of the handsheets. Coating the handsheets with a large amount of recycled pulp fines reduced friction after calendering. This study suggested that influence factors such as changes in actual contact area are essential to be investigated in controlling the friction coefficient of recycled paper.

Evaluating The Effect of Time and Temperature on The Ph, Titratable Acidity &Brix of Pasteurized LowTo-No Nectar Orange Drinks Packed in Paper Based Aseptic Packages

Orang drink is the most common flavoured drink consumed in Iraq and it can be found in markets of all sizes and in all provinces making them subjected to a wide range of storage temperature and storage time. In this work, the effect of storage time and temperature was studied on three different local brands of Orange drink with Low-to-No nectar content; all were packed in Laminated Aseptic Cartons (LAC). Samples were stored in a fixed and controlled temperature environment ranging between 10 ?C-50 ?C for a period of 5 weeks and the samples were tested for the values of Brix, Titratable Acidity (TA), and pH at the beginning and at the end of each week. The results showed that no significant difference (p > 0.05) was found, which showed that there is low-to-no evidence that the selected range of storage temperature and time in this study significantly affected the values of Brix, TA, and pH.

A Study on the Improvement Strategy for the Relevant Recycling System based on the Occurrence Status of Used Beverage Cartons

Beverage cartons are made of natural pulp and, if recycled, can be used as high-quality resources that generate high economic profits and low carbon emissions. However, as of 2020, the recycling rate for beverage cartons was 16.1%, the lowest level since the extended producer responsibility system was introduced in 2003. This study diagnosed a problem with the beverage carton recycling system and proposed a plan for improvement. Through a nationwide on-site survey (n=41), this study identified the discharge ratio of used beverage cartons by region (metropolitan city), housing type (sale, lease), discharge method (separate, mixed), collection type (daily, regular), and the current status of beverage carton-related collection and recycling companies. According to an analysis of the discharge characteristics of used beverage cartons, the proportion of aseptic cartons in densely populated areas in Seoul and other metropolitan regions was high (37.1% to 40.4%). Furthermore, the disposal rate of aseptic cartons was high in the following order : lease > sale > lease + sale. The difference in the aseptic carton waste generation rate by collection method was not statistically significant. Still, the difference in discharge type was 4.8 percent point higher than that of mixed discharge when disposed separately. According to an on-site survey of carton pack-related collection and recycling companies, the poor collection rate, low collection quality, and lack of market for recycled sanitary paper were recognized as significant challenges. Following the prospect of delivered and imported ratio of aseptic cartons raise to 50% in 2024 and 80% in 2035, this study proposed to split the separate discharge system for gable-top cartons and aseptic cartons to diversify recycled products like other foreign countries.

Attitudes of a sample of consumers towards more sustainable wine packaging alternatives

Glass is the most commonly used packaging for wine worldwide. However, one of the main causes of environmental impacts of the wine life cycle is the production of glass bottles due to the high incidence of its weight and the consequent huge consumption of energy for its production. Using lighter packaging alternatives (such as bag-in-box, aseptic carton or PET bottles) significantly decreases the environmental impact of the wine life cycle. In Italy, there is widespread scepticism towards wine bottled in alternative packaging. For this reason, this study presents a preliminary survey addressed to a sample of 1000 wine consumers to explore their attitudes and willingness to purchase wine in packaging alternatives that are more sustainable than glass bottles. The results show how most of the respondents (91%) are not willing to consider packaging alternatives for wine and want to buy only wine packaged in glass bottles mainly because they consider alternative packaging not suitable. Despite this, about 62% of them state that they would be willing to re-evaluate the purchase of wine in alternative packaging after being informed that, for most wines, the quality of the wine does not change in alternative packaging and that by using them the wine sustainability could improve. This last sample fraction drinks a little (less than one wine glass a day); their buying choices are affected by neither the main wine features (such as producer company, country of origin and information on label) nor those of the glass bottle (such as weight, colour, and shape). Therefore, this preliminary study has identified and characterized a less traditionalists wine consumer fraction that, therefore, could change their mind regarding the purchasing of wine in alternative packaging. This result shows that these consumers could be favourable towards a greater presence of wine in alternative packaging on the market. This could be a useful hint for wine producers who want to differentiate themselves from competitors by using alternative packaging and gaining interesting market niches.

Comparative life cycle assessment of alternative systems for wine packaging in Italy

Due to the great concern about plastic marine pollution, the demand for glass packaging has significantly increased since many people consider it more sustainable than plastic or multilayer packaging. However, evaluating the environmental impacts that occur in all life cycle phases (production, distribution, use and end of life), glass is often the worst packaging alternative. In particular, this study applied the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to compare the environmental performance of the traditional single-use glass bottle for wine with four packaging alternatives (aseptic carton, bag-in-box, refillable glass bottle and multilayer PET bottle) for the Italian market. Primary data about wine packaging systems (weight, size and composition of all components of primary, secondary and tertiary packaging), mode of transport and distribution and disposal scenarios of each packaging system component were provided by the packaging companies, Italian wineries and Italian Packaging Consortia as well as obtained from published literature and technical documents. Life cycle impacts of the wine packaging systems considered were assessed with the ReCiPe 2016 H evaluation method, adopting both midpoint and endpoint approaches. The results obtained highlighted that the most environmentally sound alternative is the bag-in-box, which is slightly better than the aseptic carton. The greater sustainability of bag-in-box and aseptic cartons was essentially due to the composition of the containers, lower packaging weight relative incidence and greater palletizing efficiency. The analysis of alternative scenarios, obtained by the variation of the three sensitive parameters identified (weight of containers, wine distribution distance and packaging disposal scenario), showed that upon decreasing the distribution distance, the environmental performances of refillable glass bottles became comparable to those of aseptic cartons and bag-in-box. These results pointed out that glass bottle reuse in Italy is a convenient alternative only when considering the local market (i.e. for drinks distribution at distances less than 100 km).

Discrete event simulation to aid decision-making and mitigation in solid waste management

This article aims to evaluate municipal solid waste (MSW) management schemes in order to promote sustainability and eco-efficiency, core elements in global mitigation strategies in both public and private policies. A discrete event simulation (DES) approach was used to integrate the economic, environmental, and social aspects related to aseptic carton packages (ACP) in Itajuba, Brazil. The simulated scenarios consider three alternatives for disposing ACP: landfills, recycling, and incineration with energy recovery. According to our findings, incineration alternatives are preferred from an eco-efficiency perspective, given the potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions and due to the possibility of energy recover, which reinforces the contribution of this technology to promote sustainability as largely found in the international literature. Given the context of MSW management in Brazil, this represents a significant opportunity to increase the effectiveness of mitigation strategies adopted in the country. Taking into account that this is by far the least applied technology, the authors strongly advocate that global strategies for mitigation consider different approaches to integrate carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions related to the entire MSW management system and its alternatives, thus advancing from a waste disposal-oriented system to a life cycle–oriented system.

Effective and Eco‐friendly Lubrication Protocol Using Nanodiamonds in a Dry Regime for Conveyor Systems in the Beverage Industry

Conveyor belts play an important role in the production process. Their efficiency and lifespan are strongly influenced by the use of appropriate lubrication systems, cleaning procedures and operator handling. Overuse of chemicals and detergents can result in belt degradation and corrosion. Excessive friction between the packages and the load bearing surface of the conveyors (e.g. belts or chains) can wear the packaging, delay start‐ups and increase product waste. A suitably lubricated conveyor system increases longevity and promotes operational reliability. However, this has traditionally been achieved by using large amounts of water and harsh detergents. The solution proposed in this study comprises the formulation of a nanodiamond particle‐loaded food‐grade lubricating oil, a nanolubricant, for use on packaging transport and conveyor systems. Deployed in a ‘dry’ regime, the nanolubricant is hydrophobic; its viscosity is suitable to be sprayed, and a long shelf life ensures stable dispersions. Tribological performance on high‐density polyethylene conveyor belts transporting aseptic carton packs was studied. When using the nanolubricant, wearing on the packages was reduced 60% compared with no lubricating conditions and 17% lower than current commercial solutions used for benchmarking purposes. The preparation of the nanolubricant using sonication technology presents efficiencies and carbon footprint reductions derived from lower energy consumption in the production process. This nanolubricant is an environmentally friendly solution for the maintenance of machinery for packaging and transporting and a novel mechanism to curb product returns due to aesthetic and structural damages on the packaging. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

태국 플라스틱 포장산업 현황에 관한 고찰

This survey was performed by Kasetsart University Department of Packaging and Materials Technology on Food Packaging Industry in Thailand, was to conduct on the status and trends of food packaging industry to obtain the information on the plastic of packaging materials in food packaging in Thailand. The survey conducted by field visits, questionnaires, interviews and personal communication as well as published data from different sources. The ration of plastic consumption among the industries, packaging is showed 49%, textile 15% and construction 11% respectively. Numbers of company among packaging industry, film processing company is 503, injection molding is 231, blow molding is 216. Production volume of PP, HDPE, LLDPE and LDPE is 1,950 mil. ton, 1,920 mil. ton, 1,150 mil. ton and 685 mil. ton, respectively. Import of plastic 16,668 mil. baht and export is 33,778 mil. baht. Plastic consumption is plastic bottle and flexible pouch, mainly being used in beverage industry. The past decade as it has been replaced by flexible pouches and aseptic cartons in Thailand.

Effect of fiber reinforcement on mixed-mode fracture of polymer mortars

The present paper is concerned with the failure analysis of cracked polymer mortar reinforced with particles from waste Tetra Pak® aseptic carton packages, piassava lees and glass fiber in combined mode I and II. The Brazilian disk, a classic mixed mode fracture test specimen, was adopted for the experimental characterization of the crack initiation. A slight increase in critical stress intensity factors was observed with the addition of carton particles and piassava lees. Glass fiber reinforcement promotes the highest fracture resistance to crack propagation.

종이팩의 재질ㆍ구조 개선을 위한 연구 - EPR 대상 품목을 중심으로 -

The carton for liquid products are divided into ‘gable top carton’ and ‘aseptic carton’. Currently, these packages are being recycled in the toilet tissue manufacturing process. The recycling of the carton aluminium laminate is the most important problem facing the recycling procedure of the carton packages due to the reduction in quality of recycled materials. The polymer structure with synthetic resins being used mainly in beverage packaging is also one of the important factors for the procedure for its recycling. The objective of this study was to investigate the package material and structure of the carton for liquid products through marketing research and suggest the supplementation in the work processes of production, use, and recycling. The results represent to improve the recycling profit and the quality of recycled materials when a laminated aluminium of carton for liquid products is replaced to the transparent polymer film. The improvement of the sorting and recycling process may help their recycling efficiencies. In addition, the limited use of synthetic resin molded packaging and increase of wood-pulp collection rate will provide the improvement of the recycling profit and the quality of recycled materials.

Research of Optimization Design for Transport Packaging Based on Cape Pack

The aseptic carton transportation packaging of Huiyuan juice was taken as an example in this research. Cape Pack was used to design the packaging process of small packaging, middle packaging, transport packaging and vehicle shipment in order to keep the packaging material minimum, transportation space utilization maximum and total cost minimum.

Life cycle assessments of wine and spirit packaging at the product and the municipal scale: a Toronto, Canada case study

Abstract This life cycle assessment (LCA) examines the claim that lightweight and refillable packaging alternatives to conventional single use glass bottles for wines and spirits reduce environmental impacts. Using LCA input data from laboratory and field research, as well as questionnaires to industry, the potential life cycle impacts of five types of 1 l wine packages and four types of 750 ml spirit packages are compared. In addition, detailed wine and spirit volume sales data are used to undertake an LCA comparison of packaging consumption at a municipal scale. Impacts associated with the wine and spirit packaging supplied in the City of Toronto, Canada in 2008 are compared with a plausible alternative comprising only lightweight and refillable containers which reduces the mass of waste by approximately half. Four alternative means of packaging, including the container, closures, capsules and labels, are evaluated: lightweight single use glass bottles; refillable glass bottles; polyethylene terephthalate bottles; and aseptic cartons. LCA results estimated using the ReCiPe impact assessment method address both the relative impact differences between the packaging systems, as well as the cumulative impacts from the consumption of packages of multiple sizes and types within a municipality. Out of the five types of packages evaluated, the refillable glass bottle and aseptic carton prove to have the lowest net endpoint level environmental impacts, with impact reductions, relative to the conventional single use glass container, reaching as high as 87%. At the municipal scale, the alternative packaging scenario is responsible for endpoint level impact reductions of between 40% and 42%.

Kinetics of thermal decomposition of aseptic packages

AbstractKinetics of thermal decomposition of aseptic packages (e.g. Tetrapak cartons) and pyrolysis of this waste in a laboratory flow reactor was studied. Three different models for the calculation of the reaction rate and the determination of apparent kinetic parameters of thermal decomposition were used. The first method assumes a two stage thermal decomposition and the kinetic parameters were determined by fitting a derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) curve to experimentally determined thermogravimetric data of whole aseptic cartons. The second method uses kinetic parameters determined by fitting DTG curves to thermogravimetric data of individual components of aseptic packages. The last method was a multi-curve isoconversion method assuming a change of kinetic parameters with the increasing conversion. All types of the determined kinetic parameters were used in a mathematical model for thermal decomposition of mini briquettes made from aseptic packages at the temperature of 650°C. The model calculated also the heat conduction in the particles and it was verified by an independent set of experiments conducted in a laboratory screw type flow reactor.

Environmental assessment of the milk life cycle: The effect of packaging selection and the variability of milk production data

Milk is a very important part of our diet, which is why there is a wide variety of packaging alternatives with considerable local variants on the market. This study assesses the environmental impact of the commonest packaging options on the Spanish market and evaluates (from the point of view of global warming and acidification) the production of the various packaging materials and sizes and their final disposal (landfilling, incineration and recycling). For the two indicators studied (global warming and acidification) larger aseptic carton packages and recycling disposal have the best environmental impact. The global warming and acidification potential of the milk life cycle were also studied: milk production, transport (local conditions), packaging production and packaging disposal. Of the two indicators studied, the milk production stage has the largest impact on the milk life cycle. It should be taken into account that the impact of the milk production stage can vary considerably and has a significant influence on the global warming and acidification potential of the milk life cycle.