Polypropylene in the Industry of Food Packaging

Department of Entomology and Toxicology, Faculty of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University of Tehran, Branch of Sciences Researches, 

several polymer types are currently used for foodstuff packaging. Plastics have emerged as the most preferred choice of packaging materials for various products- from food, beverages, chemicals, electronic items and so on. They offer unique advantages over conventional materials (Anonymous, 2011)  

Shelf Life Plastics packaging material offer better shelf life 

Cost Plastics are the most cost effective medium of packaging when compared with any other material, the cost of transportation is reduced considerable on account of lower weight and less damage 

Convenience Plastics can be converted in any form with various processing techniques, thus can pack any type of substances like liquids, powders, flakes, granules, solids. Waste Packaging in plastics reduces the wastage of various food products, typical example is potatoes or onions packed in leno. 

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Chapter 5 discusses in detail the current application of recycled PET. In particular, the applications of recycled PET are discussed in the fields of food packaging, construction, textile industry, injection moulding and other manufacturing processes, wood-plastic composites and so on. On the other hand. Chapter 6 describes the optical properties of polyolefins upon recycling. Optical properties of different plastics play a key role in packaging applications, so this chapter primarily focuses on the different structural aspects and properties of isotactic polypropylene. 

The production of foamed films and sheets from polypropylene and polystyrene is discussed, with particular reference to packaging applications. Advantages of foamed materials for this application are examined, and the chemical and physical foaming processes are described. Extrusion technology for film and sheet by chemical and physical foaming processes is discussed, and recent developments in the coextrusion of multilayer packaging trays for the food industry are considered. 

Acrylonitrile is currently the second largest outlet for propylene (after polypropylene). It is used as a monomer for synthetic fibers and acrylic plastics (thermoplastics and food packaging mainly), AS (acrylonitrile-styrene) resins, and ABS (aerylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) thermoplastics, as well as in the synthesis of acrylamide, adiponitrile, and nitrile elastomers. The manufacture of acrylonitrile is exclusively based on the one-step propylene ammoxidation process. Originally developed by Sohio, Standard Oil Company (now part of BP America), the conventional method used since 1957 employs a fluidized-bed reactor and multicomponent catalysts based on Mo-containing mixed-metal oxides. Over the years, the industrial... 

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