It’s also used for this? Polyvinyl alcohols (PVOH,PVA) for coffee capsules

Although glass, metal, and paper are also used for food packaging, plastic currently dominates due to its processability and lightweight properties. Plastics can be processed in various ways, forming films and sheets or by injection molding and blow molding, to produce packaging for all kinds of applications and have become indispensable in our daily lives.

However, as plastics are stable materials they do not decompose easily in nature and concerns about soil and marine pollution have made plastics disposal an important issue. Environmentally-friendly packaging design has become necessary and developments in the areas of light weighting and volume reduction, easy-to-recycle materials, and biodegradable plastics are attracting attention.

Plastic packaging is manufactured by melt extrusion or coating techniques.

All kinds of plastic packaging are being used around us.

Soft packaging for snacks and sweets
Biodegradable capsules for capsule-type coffee machines
Trays for instant rice and other cooked rice products
Casing films for sausages, etc.
Laminated bottles for mayonnaise, etc.
Retort pouches for instant curry, etc.
Cups for instant cup noodles

Layer structure of plastic packaging

All goods need to be protected. During the journey from manufacturer, via the retailer, through to the consumer, they may be exposed to all kinds of physical shock, including being dropped, hit, or crushed. To protect the goods from damage, the chosen packaging specifications and materials need to match the logistics conditions. The selection of suitable packaging can prevent the fatigue failure of the goods and keep them looking attractive.

To keep foods fresh and at their best for an extended period, external factors such as oxygen, moisture, light, temperature, and microorganisms must be controlled. By using multi-film structured food packaging including a barrier layer, problems such as discoloration, oxidation, and degradation can be prevented and the food kept fresh and at its best for longer periods.

Less food will be thrown away, helping to contribute to lower food loss.

PVOH have excellent gas barrier properties and are used as gas barrier materials for plastic packaging.

However, although PVOH have excellent barrier properties at low humidities, they are poor under higher humidity conditions, so their use is often limited to packaging of dry items such as dry foods and chips.

Despite this, since PVOH have superior low-humidity gas barrier properties compared to other plastics, their gas barrier films can be thinner, which contributes to lower plastic use. In other words, PVOH can contribute to the development of environmentally-friendly and sustainable packaging materials.

Nichigo G-Polymer™ is a PVOH-type resin that retains gas barrier properties but whose crystallinity can be controlled. Conventional PVOH give aqueous solutions with poor stability which increase in viscosity when stored at low temperatures, leading to coated films with less uniform thickness.

With its superior features for coating processability such as improved solubility performance, aqueous solution stability, and miscibility with alcohols, Nichigo G-Polymer™ can contribute to improved product quality and a more efficient production process.

We recommend Nichigo G-Polymer™ for customers with concerns about the solution stability of PVOH aqueous solutions for gas barrier coatings.

Please see below for details about Nichigo G-Polymer™.