By: ICN Bureau
Last updated : October 23, 2022 2:37 pm
Covestro has developed a new heat-resistant coating for use on mono-material stand-up pouches made with SABIC’s PE/BOPE technology
Covestro has developed a proof-of-concept heat-resistant coating for use on mono-PE stand-up pouches made with SABIC BOPE polymer. The coating facilitates the industrial-scale production of BOPE-based mono-material stand-up pouches on horizontal form-fill-seal (HFFS) lines. This innovation paves the way for simple single-stream recyclability of flexible plastic pouches, marking an important step on the way to achieving a circular economy for packaging. Covestro and SABIC will continue their collaboration to further improve and eventually commercialize this product and bring its benefits to brand owners and consumers.
BOPE can be used to make flexible packaging in which all the layers are manufactured from PE polymer grades. This packaging can then be recycled in a single stream. However, BOPE-based mono-material stand-up pouches are difficult to manufacture at scale on FFS lines due to their low heat resistance compared with current PET- or PA-containing laminates.
To solve this problem, Covestro engineered a heat-resistant coating for mono-PE BOPE-based stand-up pouches. This increases the pouches’ heat resistance so they can be manufactured on high-speed FFS production lines while maintaining high visual and performance qualities. Thanks to Covestro’s new coating, SABIC’s BOPE polymer can be a viable alternative to replace PA and PET containing multi-material laminates for flexible plastic packaging.
"We take our responsibility to create lower-impact packaging seriously. Our circular economy strategy focuses on recyclable solutions that unlock pathways toward closing the loop on materials," explains Davide Reverdito Bove, Sector Marketing Manager at Covestro.
"In SABIC, we found an expert partner. This close collaboration will enable us to accelerate the engineering and testing process of our new heat-resistant coating for BOPE with clear benefits for the product quality, the customer, and the planet."
"Thanks to this heat-resistant coating solution for flexible packaging, manufacturers can meet challenges in processing, without compromising on the properties and machinability of the packaging," says Roel Beckers, Sales Manager at Covestro. "It allows a faster switch to mono-PE solutions and the use of the BOPE material as we work with global value chain partners who share our mindset of contributing to a more circular plastics economy."