Transparent active barrier film
One of the greatest challenges facing food and pharmaceutical companies is stopping oxygen from spoiling their products and causing unnecessary waste. At DSM we’ve developed one of the leading transparent barrier films that meet this precise need – Akulon® XB.
Can you help?
The question we have been asking ourselves is 'How else could high-quality active barrier film be used?' Perhaps you could help us find new markets and applications for this product…
The challenge
When oxygen contaminates food and pharmaceutical products it spells trouble for manufacturers, but also for consumers - because we have to throw products away. And the problems don’t just end for these industries. Oxygen exposure can also damage electronic devices, like flexible displays and solar modules.
Manufacturers in these markets are increasingly replying on high-barrier film to protect and prolong the lives of their products. The real challenge has always been doing so at minimum disruption to production and processes.
The solution
In response to the need to prolong product shelf life we developed a unique oxygen-scavenging polymer that acts on contact with air. Called Akulon® XB film, it offers good barrier properties against oxygen and also absorbs residual oxygen in Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP).
We can tailor the Akulon film thickness and the amount of oxygen-scavenging polymers depending on what our manufacturer customers need. We can make the product with different barrier properties and scavenging rates – all based on the shelf life of the individual products and the lifetime of the XB film.
As the functionality of Akulon XB is based on oxygen scavenging, the inevitable chemical transformations emit an odour and taste that make it hardly ideal for food packaging. But what else could it package (where oxygen is an issue but the appetite isn’t)?
The details
What’s so good about Akulon® XB? It offers:
- Transparency and high-barrier flexibility
- Barrier film properties comparable to EVOH
- An oxygen-scavenging system that doesn’t require a trigger of UV or moisture
- Ease of processing because conventional film equipment can be used
- Maximum filling speed in MAP while achieving lower O2 levels
Enhanced barrier and oxygen scavenging properties
Akulon XB adsorbs residual oxygen in MAP. Following table shows how long it takes to reduce 2 vol. % O2 to 0 vol. %. in the headspace of the pack as a function of temperature.
| T (°C) | Time to reduce 2 to 0 vol. % O2 in headspace |
|---|---|
| 20 | ~ 40 hrs |
| 70 | ~ 15 min |
Oxygen scavenging properties
The oxygen barrier properties of Akulon XB are comparable with EVOH. As time passes, Akulon XB will become saturated with oxygen and the barrier properties become less.
| Sample | Oxygen transmission rate (cc/m2/day) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Day 1 |
Day 10 |
Day 20 |
Day 25 |
| EVOH 44 % - 75 µm | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Akulon XB* – 75 µm | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.1 |
| Akulon XB* – 50 µm | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.1 | 0.25 |
Oxygen barrier properties: *results dependent on XB concentration
The offer
- It’s successful: This product is proven to work – just not for food packaging
- It’s flexible: We believe that Akulon XB could potentially be used for virtually any oxygen barrier application
- It’s available: We want to find new, non-food applications for this product
