Plastic packaging advantages

What advantages might an oxygen-absorbing additive in a plastic package have over the use of an antioxidant in the product formulation ... 

Many types of post-consumer plastic packaging that are not recovered by recycling are disposed of in landfills. There are many environmental advantages (see section 3.7) to be achieved by using oxo-biodegradable polyolefins in these applications but safety considerations are equally important. Keller Heckman (the US/Intemational specialist law firm) conducted the certification and validation work for TDPA formulations required by the US Food and Drug Administration. Most TDPA formulations have been cleared for use in any type of food packaging, for any type of food. Likewise, TDPA formulations are considered safe by the SCF (Scientific Committee for Food) of the European Union. 

The PSA formulator can also take advantage of plasticizers. For example, polyether-based plasticizers have both good low-temperature flexibility and good hydrophilicity. Using these properties, acrylic PSAs have been formulated with these types of plasticizers to obtain high adhesion to food packages stored under refrigerated conditions [102]. Similarly, polyether plasticized acrylics have been used to make repulpable PSAs [103]. 

Permeability. The low density of plastics is an advantage in many situations but the relatively loose packing of the molecules means that gases and liquids can permeate through the plastic. This can be important in many applications such as packaging or fuel tanks. It is not possible to generalise about the performance of plastics relative to each other or in respect to the performance of a specific plastic in contact with different liquids and gases. 

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