Publié le 21/02/2023 par Chan-Seng Delphine
The life cycle of flexible food packaging used to preserve the freshness of food is short. These packages are made of multi-layered plastic films of different nature, which makes them difficult to recycle. To address this issue, mechanical-chemical recycling uses an interfacial agent in the molten state to stabilize the different polymer phases present. In this context, the PECMAT and IP2 teams were interested in the development of an interfacial agent for a blend of polyethylene and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) which are the main components of flexible food packaging. Our study has identified a molecule with an epoxide function and a TEMPO group as a potential interfacial agent for this polymer blend. This work has been published in the journal Polymer Chemistry (https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2023/py/d2py01495e) and is included in the virtual topical issue on plastic conversion.