Reduced off-odour of plastic recyclates
Plastic recyclates produced from waste packaging have to meet high sensory requirements in order to be used for new products. Plastic recyclates often have off-odours, some of which have not hitherto been identified. The Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV has analysed the sensory properties of post-consumer shopping bags made of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and originating from different collection systems. More than 60 odorous substances were identified using combined chemo-analytical methods. The information gained provides a targeted strategy for avoiding off-odours. The results of this collaborative study with the Chair of Aroma and Smell Research at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and the University of Alicante have now been published.
In order to meet the targets of the new EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive concerning the recycling of packaging waste, new markets for recyclates produced from waste plastic packaging must be found. Recyclates produced from waste plastic packaging must have no off-odours if they are to be used as secondary raw materials for the manufacture of high-quality consumer products. Indeed, the off-odours in plastic recyclates prevent a closed cycle for the recycling of plastic packaging materials. Currently, there is a particularly high reusage rate for recyclates produced from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.
LDPE packaging waste in focus
The Sensory Analytics department at the Fraunhofer IVV characterises and optimises plastics and recyclates. The odorants in HDPE waste and the recyclates produced from packaging from bodycare products and detergents have already been analysed. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is one of the most commonly used plastics. It is widely used for packaging materials such as plastic shopping bags. Via various collection systems these bags end up as packaging waste. Part of the current study on post-consumer LDPE shopping bags concerned the effect of the collection strategy on the sensory impairment of the waste.
The complete article can be read in PETplanet Insider 6 / 2020.
