Ultimate Recycle-Ready Monomaterial Spout Pouch for Larger Liquids
"Recyclable packaging is now a must-have for plastic packaging as the demand for recycle-ready packaging continues to grow to support the circular economy. However, due to technical and performance limitations, producing a monomaterial flexible pouch is still challenging, particularly for larger liquid applications. ZACROS has collaborated with a global injection molding company, Menshen, to improve packaging performance and the manufacturing process of a monomaterial liquid pouch.
Sealing difficulty and material durability are among the leading hurdles to adopting monomaterial liquid pouches. A traditional multimaterial spout requires sealing machines to employ a higher temperature. However, because of a lower melting point, polyethylene (PE) monomaterial films start to incur damage once the sealing temperature exceeds 130°C. Menshen successfully designed and developed a unique all-PE spout, LoTUS™, that is easier to bond with monomaterial films without damage. The LoTUS™ spout improves sealing quality and allows a more stable production process.
In addition to a spout, PE films tend to be weaker than other materials, such as PET and Nylon. Many liquid pouches still use multimaterial films to give durability in order to support the liquid weights. Monomaterial liquid pouches are coming out, but many are either in a sachet format or less than 500ml. The stand-up pouch with a bottom gusset is incredibly challenging because the bottom gusset tends to tear apart. ZACROS utilized different polyethylene orientations to increase the durability of the stand-up pouch. Furthermore, a sealing temperature is critical to producing quality pouches. If the sealing temperature is too high, the side seal area will suffer from heat shrinkage, and the bottom seal area will stick together, preventing the bottom film from opening properly. On the other hand, if the sealing temperature is too low, there is a possibility that the contents will leak. Using ZACROS's extensive knowledge and experience of the liquid pouch, we were able to derive appropriate sealing conditions to develop a monomaterial liquid pouch that holds liquids up to 1300ml. ZACROS's monomaterial pouch has the quality equivalent to multilayer structured pouches (strength, oxygen barrier and water vapor barrier properties, print quality, and ease of refilling) while meeting CEFLEX guidelines.
Combining the innovations of ZACROS and Menshen, we achieved an ultimate recycle-ready durable monomaterial liquid pouch that improves packaging performance and the manufacturing process."