Available Technologies

Executive Summary

Flexible plastic films are used extensively for packaging applications. Increasingly there are consumer, company and government demands for better end of life products to minimize landfill waste. However, often these more eco-friendly products have poor mechanical or barrier properties and are not suitable for recycling. Researchers at Michigan State University have recently developed a new tie layer composition that allows excellent bonding between common film layers.

Description of the Technology

The technology is based on a unique tie-layer adhesive composition that that allows excellent adhesion between polyester or polyolefin film layers and polar oxygen barrier layers such as EVOH or PVOH. Various multilayer film combinations have been made with this tie-layer by compression molding or melt casting including films with HDPE, PBS, PBO, HDPE and EVOH oxygen barrier and tested for barrier properties.

Benefits

• Excellent interlayer adhesion even after annealing
• Good barrier properties. Technology can achieve WVRT(90%/38^oC) <0.55 g-mm/m2/day and <0.55 cc-mm/m2/day of OTR at 50%/23^oC.
• Can be extended to biodegradable, biopolymer, compostable film layers
• Cost is comparable to the contemporary non-recyclable commercial multilayers

Applications

• Packaging films for food

Patent Status

• Patent pending

Licensing Rights

Full licensing rights available

Inventors

Dr. Muhammad Rabnawaz, Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

TECH ID

TEC2025-0073